INDIANAPOLIS — Police in Columbus said they arrested two 18-year-old suspects, Alexander Parker and Edmarius Oats, in connection to the shooting at Lincoln Park Tuesday night.
Police said four people, two minors and two young adults, were wounded near the basketball courts.
Michelle Chandler was one of dozens of people playing softball on diamonds right next to where the shooting took place. Chandler said she and others ran to help the victims in any way they could.
“Maybe not the smartest thing I’ve done, running towards danger, but if that were my child, I’d really hope somebody would run to help him," Chandler said. “Our team was up by the diamond, and you heard gunshots over here. A lot of gunshots.”
She said people used belts, napkins, socks and whatever else they could find to stop the bleeding.
“People started putting pressure," Chandler said. "The Parks and Rec showed up, and he had a first-aid kit. I asked him for his belt. There was a lot of blood with him.”
She said one victim was on the ground near the basketball court and noticed three more victims had made their way to the softball diamonds.
Chandler said several people helped stop their bleeding as well.
"Not heroes, no. What we are, are human," Chandler said. "Those are somebody’s kids. You help."
Witnesses said it was a drive-by shooting. Police say they arrested Parker during a traffic stop shortly after the shooting. Hours later, Oats was taken into custody outside a home on Old Field Lane.
“We heard a loud boom," Tim Sorrells said. "It was just, boom! We were both like, 'What in the world is going on?'”
Sorrells said his street was locked down Tuesday night and that police had an hourslong standoff with Oats, who was inside a residence before surrendering to police.
“Then I started hearing the negotiator talking to him, trying to coax him to come outside," Sorrells said.
Both Parker and Oats are preliminarily charged with aggravated battery and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. Parker is also preliminarily charged with assisting a criminal.