IMPD: Woman critically hurt in fight, shootout outside Kroger on west side

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A woman was in critical condition after being shot Wednesday evening outside a Kroger grocery, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

IMPD Maj. Mike Leeper said the department was first called shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a disturbance and possible fight outside the Wendy’s restaurant, 5055 W. Washington St. That is east of South Lynhurst Drive on the city’s west side. Officers found people possibly involved in the disturbance in the Wendy’s parking lot, and all of them agreed to leave without further investigation. The officers had no reason to believe a crime had happened.

However, shortly thereafter, the same people got into another fight and a shootout outside the Kroger at 5173 W. Washington St. in Westgate Plaza. That happened in the Kroger parking lot that’s adjacent to the Wendy’s parking lot.

Before police went to the Kroger parking lot, one of the people involved in the fight took the woman to IU Health West Hospital in Avon, and police later learned she was there. She was later airlifted from the Avon hospital to a trauma center.

Aggravated assault detectives were talking to people involved.

Leeper said, “We do believe at this point and time that we have all the parties that are involved in this incident either identified or know who they are based off our officers’ previous encounter, and we have no reason to believe at this point and time that we have a risk to the public.”

He said IMPD is seeing increasing incidents with people in conflicts “resorting to guns to solve the problem.”

Leeper lamented that people visiting the grocery, the restaurant and the shops in the area were put at risk. “When we have individuals that can’t solve their problems with words and resort to gun violence, they put everybody that’s in this parking lot, everybody that’s in general area in jeopardy, and that’s not acceptable.”

“The targets they intend are not always the targets that get hit,” the IMPD major added.