Man dies after found shot at city park along 46th Street on northeast side

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man has died after being found Tuesday night with a gunshot wound at a city park on the city’s northeast side, police said.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was called to check on the welfare of a person shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday to Gardner Park, 6925 E. 46th St..

About 15 minutes later, emergency medical crews were called to the park, which is near retail stores southwest of the intersection of 46th Street and Shadeland Avenue.

Officer William Young with IMPD public affairs said shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, “It’s in somewhat of a remote part of the park, and so our investigators — it’s somewhat of a larger scene than we would normally have — and so our investigators will be out here canvassing and piecing together, trying to gather evidence so that we can hold those accountable responsible. As you can tell behind me, we still have additional officers arriving, trying to assist with that canvass because, as you can tell behind us, this a relatively larger area than what we would conclude as a normal crime scene.”

Young said the homicide is the 244th in Indianapolis this year. That’s just one shy of the record total of homicides in 2020.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim as 18-year-old Javion Rhodes.

No information on a possible suspect was provided.

Anyone with information was asked to call the IMPD homicide office at 317-327-3475. Detective Stephen Smalley is assigned to the case.

Gardner Park features tennis courts, basketball courts, a playground, a picnic shelter and pedestrian trails on 9 acres. Houses, apartments, retailers, a credit union, a restaurant, a child care center, a Catholic school and a credit union surround the park.

News 8 reached out by phone to an Indy Parks representative for comment, but received no response by 10 p.m. Tuesday. Indy Parks facilities generally are closed from dusk to dawn. Sunset on Tuesday was at 5:27 p.m.

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