1 dead, 3 others injured in shooting at Beech Grove park
LATEST: The Marion County Coroner’s Office by Dec. 27, 2022, has not responded to an email request from News 8 to identify the person who died.
BEECH GROVE, Ind. (WISH) — One person was killed and three others were injured in a Sunday night shooting at Don Challis Park in Beech Grove.
Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, police were called to the park on a report of shots fired. Officers arrived and found four people who had been shot. One person died at the scene. Three others were taken to the hospital and were in stable condition Monday morning, according to Tom Hurrle, deputy chief of the Beech Grove Police Department.
Police believe the shooting happened at a vigil for someone who recently died. “It kind of sounds like a conglomeration of friends, family, and people from the neighborhood where this person lived,” Hurrle said.
Witnesses told police that two women got into an argument and had to be separated, according to Hurrle. “And that, somehow, erupted into this massive barrage of weapons beings fired,” Hurrle said Monday morning. “We do know that there were dozens of rounds fired in the park.”
However, on Monday afternoon, Beech Grove investigators said they are no longer sure if there is a direct link between the fight that broke out between two women and the shooting.
Police on Sunday were trying to figure out how the victims and other people at the gathering were connected to Beech Grove. “There’s nothing that points them to Beech Grove. How they ended up at that park, I have no idea,” Hurrle said.
Hurrle says police are looking for two or three male suspects. They may be driving a white Toyota Camry with a window that’s been shot out.
On Monday afternoon, Beech Grove police shared surveillance footage of the park from the minutes leading up to the shooting. The video showed a white, newer-model Toyota Camry which police said drove around the area before pulling into the parking lot at Don Challis Park and waiting. As the gathering broke up around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, police said someone in the car opened fire.
Daria Rumler said she was at home with her two college-age children when the shooting happened. She said they were watching TV and she was online reading about the shooting at Greenwood Park Mall earlier in the evening, so they weren’t aware of the shooting at the park until someone texted her son to ask if he was safe. Rumler has lived within sight of the park since 2009.
“There’s a lot of people who frequent that park. There’s a lot of families. There’s a lot of younger kids that like to go there and play sand volleyball,” she said.
Rumler said she went down to the corner and watched with neighbors for some time as police worked on the scene. She said her thoughts turned repeatedly to her son. “My son likes to get out at night sometimes. He works the night shift, and he goes out on his skateboard sometimes just to get out of his head, and thank God he was home last night.”
Beech Grove police said anyone with information about the shooting should contact the department at (317) 782-4936 or policeinfo@beechgrove.com. People can also leave anonymous tips with Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-8477.
