IMPD: 17-year-old arrested for role in mass shooting that injured 7 juveniles
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis police on Tuesday announced they have arrested a 17-year-old boy for his role in a mass shooting that injured seven juveniles.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says that 17-year-old King Dennis faces charges of criminal recklessness and dangerous possession of a firearm for his connection to the shooting.
Dennis was also previously convicted for dangerous possession of a firearm, but was adjudicated in January 2023.
Around 11:30 p.m. on March 30, officers patrolling downtown were dispatched to the area of Illinois and Maryland streets on reports that multiple people had been shot. That intersection is right in downtown Indianapolis.
When they arrived, they found six juveniles with gunshot wounds. A seventh juvenile who’d been shot had taken themselves to a nearby hospital.
The juveniles, ages 12 – 16, were all said to be in stable condition after the shooting.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by News 8 says Dennis had been arrested at the scene for fighting with police. When officers spoke with him, he said he and his cousins were walking near the intersection when they saw a group of people fighting. Shortly after, he heard gunshots.
After reviewing security camera footage from the Sugar Factory, a restaurant near the corner of Illinois and Maryland streets, officers saw Dennis walking with a 12-year-old juvenile and firing a handgun toward a crowd of people. The affidavit described Dennis in a “shooting stance” as he shot his gun.
The 12-year-old Dennis was with was one of the seven juveniles shot and injured.
On Friday, officers performed a traffic stop on Dennis and took him into custody. In a second interview with Dennis and his mother, officers showed Dennis the security camera footage.
He confirmed that he and his cousin were seen in the video. He then repeated his story, adding that he and a few other people, including his cousin, were trying to move away from the group of people fighting.
He said that after they started walking northbound on Illinois Street, he heard and saw people shooting guns. He told officers that “he didn’t think they were targeting him, but believed they were shooting in his direction.”
That’s when he pulled out a gun he had hiding in his jacket and fired in the direction of the group.
He also stated that “he wasn’t aiming at anyone, but had seen some movies and knew that if he shot at people shooting at him, he could give his friends time to get to safety.”
Dennis added that the gun he fired belonged to his best friend, and after the shooting, he gave it back because “he didn’t want to be blamed for the gun being taken away.”
IMPD says they are still investigating the shooting and reviewing surveillance footage and witness statements.
They did not say if there were any other suspects in the shooting.
Anyone with information about this incident was asked to contact Det. Michal Dinnsen in the IMPD Aggregated Assault Office at 317-327-3475 or they can email him at michal.dinnsen@indy.gov.
