Prosecutor investigating host of party that sparked Muncie mass shooting

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — The Delaware County Prosecutor said part of his investigation into the mass shooting that left one man dead in Muncie will center around the person who hosted the party.

He’ll be deciding if they’ll face legal consequence.

The host of the party told I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher that he is not making any public comments at this time, despite Muncie police trying to place blame for what happened on him.

“Everybody was enjoying their self and we were having a good time,” said Ashley Erby, who was at the party.

That’s how she described the scene before gunfire erupted. After shots rang out, “It was very scary,” said Nette Gudger, who was also at the party.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a fight between Joseph Bonner and John Vance Jr. led up to the gunfire, leaving Bonner dead.

Muncie Police Department Chief of Police Nathan Sloan does not have the power to charge the organizer of the party for what happened, but that has not stopped him from weighing in on if he should be.

“In my opinion, I think there is a responsibility in that aspect,” said Sloan.

Chief Sloan said the Muncie Police Department did what they could to shut down the party before gunfire erupted. “We did make an initial phone call. We asked that that party be shutdown. It was not shut down, and then we tried to call several other times and he refused to take our call,” said Sloan.

People who were at the party disagree with the chief of police about who is responsible for what happened.

“I don’t feel like it’s the organizer’s fault because I don’t feel like he can control how many people had showed up,” said Gudger.

The Delaware County Prosecutor is the only one with the power to press charges against the host of the party. He did not give a timeline for when his investigation will be complete to determine if the host of this party will face charges.