MUNCIE, Ind. — A 21-year-old man is charged in the killing of a 19-year-old Marion man near the Ball State campus Saturday morning.
Malek Williams is charged with murder and criminal recklessness for the fatal shooting Que' Aundre Johnson near University Avenue and Dill Street.
Officers were called to the restaurant area just east of campus at 12:40 a.m. on a report of a shooting and found Johnson with several gunshot wounds. He was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Williams was arrested just before 5:15 p.m. on Saturday.
According to court documents, surveillance video shows Johnson walking toward Brother's Bar and Grill when Williams stops him. The two talk for just over a minute, when the court documents said Williams can be seen pulling a gun and then he starts shooting Johnson. Video shows Johnson trying to run away as Williams chases him and continues firing.
"It's pretty scary since there are apartments literally right across the street," said Natalie Blayne, a Ball State freshman.
The court documents said 13 shell casings were recovered from the shooting and that Johnson was hit seven times. According to court documents, Johnson was dating the ex-girlfriend of Williams and that might have been what led to the confrontation and shooting. Williams' ex-girlfriend identified him in the surveillance video as the shooter, according to the court documents.
Some people visiting the area said they were still in disbelief about what happened.
"Some people were really scared. They thought it was going to be a mass shooting," said Blake Edwards, who was standing nearby when the shooting started and remembers everyone starting to run.
"We heard gunshots and a lot of people rushed in as soon as that happened and started rushing to the bathroom," said Edwards. "It was definitely shocking. I wasn't prepared for that. It's not normal for something like that to happen."
Shayler Neal, a Ball State student, said he was across the street from where the shooting happened at the music venue Be Here Now. Neal was celebrating his 21st birthday.
Neal said he saw a bystander giving Que' Aundre Johnson CPR, but the 19-year-old died.
"It's so sad to see. It was so sad to see. Such a young life gone, wasted, for what?" said Edwards.
Neal described the aftermath of the shooting as chaotic.
"There was a large police presence here last night. It was basically the entire street. The street was blocked off," said Neal.
As students prepare for classes to start on Monday, Neal hopes Saturday morning's events were an isolated incident.
"I hope it's not something that continues around here. The village is a nice area for people to hang out," said Neal.
Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said his office expects to file formal murder charges against Williams this week.
"Violent crime is up. People are getting killed. I think we've had seven homicides in the month of July in Muncie alone. This has got to stop," Hoffman said.
While there are no other suspects at large in this case, Munice police said officers are still actively investigating.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Muncie Police detectives at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.