Authorities: Police did not shoot woman on Brentwood Drive

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 25-year-old woman whose shooting death early Thursday morning sparked community outrage was not shot by a police officer, authorities said.

A private security guard with no law enforcement ties is being investigated as a suspect.

Officials declined to confirm the guard’s name but said he worked for a security firm contracted by an area housing complex.

The shooting was reported Thursday around 12:15 a.m. in the 4100 block of Brentwood Drive.

The victim was transported to Eskenazi Hospital and later died.

Friends and bystanders upset over the shooting set a security guard’s vehicle on fire outside the Town and Terrace complex.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor declined to speak with News 8 about the investigation during a Thursday press conference held to announce a $50,000 donation to the department’s horse patrol unit.

Josh Barker, IMPD’s deputy chief of operations, said he had few details about what led to the shooting.

“There was some sort of an incident that unfolded involving a female who was in the complex,” Barker told News 8. “And that exchange led to the security officer shooting his weapon and that female subject died.”

Indiana licenses security firms but not individual security guards, according to the state’s Professional Licensing Agency (PLA).

Armed guards must have firearms licenses.

No training is required for security guards in Indiana. 

William Young, an IMPD officer who was on scene during the initial investigation, urged community members to recognize police were not involved in the Brentwood Drive shooting.

“It’s a trying time for our community and our country,” he said. “[The] majority of our police officers – we stand behind the community and want the community to stand behind us.”