MUNCIE, Ind. — Muncie residents continue to heal after a mass shooting killed one person and injured 18 others. One woman was injured after she was run over by a car.
“People are still hurting from what happened. There are still people healing from being shot — my niece being one of them. She can't bend her knee. She can't work,” local business owner Lathay Pegues said.
On Monday, Muncie police arrested a second suspect – a 29-year-old man. The suspect is the younger brother of the man who died that night, 30-year-old Joseph Bonner.
In court documents, the suspect told detectives he pulled out a handgun and fired shots toward 36-year-old John Vance Jr., who was the first person arrested in connection to the shooting.
The suspect also told detectives he saw Vance shoot his brother and then turn the gun toward him. He told investigators he then shot Vance in self-defense.
“We have a pretty good picture of what happened. There are some missing pieces that we need, and we are relying heavily on the public for that information,” Muncie Police Capt. Steve Cox said.
Cox said some people may be fearful of coming forward with information.
"It's like people are walking on eggshells, scared to say anything or voice their opinion. Let's say if that affects you or one of your family members. Are you going to quiet about something like that?” said Kat Carey, a member of the Industry Neighborhood Association in Muncie.
It's an incident that’s impacted many, physically, emotionally and mentally.
“How do you just get over that? Being in a crowd with thousands of people and gunshots, and bullets start flying, and you don't know where they're coming from. You see bodies scattered on the road, and you don't know if they're dead or not. Like, how do you get past that?" Pegues said.
Pegues encourages talking to someone.
“I know that it can be taboo getting professional help, especially in our community, but I told (my niece), there is nothing wrong with talking this through,” Pegues said.
Carey said the community is moving forward the best way they know how but wants input from Muncie leaders.
“We would like to hear and know what the strategies are, and plans for us to deal with this type of issue in the future because it is probably going to happen again,” Carey said.
“It was one of those cases that you'll never forget that case. It's one of the most high-profile cases I think that we've ever had, if not the most,” Cox said.
Investigators ask anyone with information in the shooting to call the Muncie Police Department Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or Muncie Police Dispatch at 765-747-4838.