INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department provided an update on the “unnecessary violence” that occurred at a Halloween party on the north side of Indianapolis Sunday morning.

According to previous reports, a teenage girl was reported dead and nine other people were wounded after the Sunday shooting. Officers said that the incident occurred around 12 a.m. Sunday in the 5100 block of East 65th Street. When officers arrived, they reportedly heard gunshots in the area and saw a large crowd of people fleeing the area.

Officials said at the time that six guns were recovered at the scene, as well as shell casings from four different calibers of firearms. The ages of the individuals who were reportedly wounded ranged between 16 and 22. During Monday afternoon’s update on the incident, officials said they have not identified a shooter, or shooters, yet.

Matt Thomas, a commander with IMPD’s north district, said that officers were notified via a tip of the party with reported drug use that more than 100 people attended. The party was at a reported business park which normally had little to no activity in the evening hours and that initially, there was no indication of violence.

As officers were waiting for additional resources, Thomas said that ongoing gunfire was heard at the location. Officers then began to make contact with people and many ran up to officers with injuries. The reported victim, identified by police as a 16-year-old girl, reportedly was found dead near the entrance of the building.

Thomas said that 10 people were shot during the incident, one of whom was the 16-year-old girl who died. Six of the individuals shot were juveniles and their ages ranged from 16 to 21. Thomas said that medical aid was given by first responders and many were transported to the hospital.

During the update, IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams acknowledged the “heroic efforts” of the officers who were at the “chaotic scene.” Adams also acknowledged the families of the individuals who were impacted by the “unnecessary violence.”

Adams said the department is working with its ATF partners to determine the purchasers of the firearms that were recovered from the scene. IMPD has identified the promoter of the event, as well as the sub-leaser of the place of business the event occurred at, stating that the department is going to try and put forward cases “relevant to them.”

Adams stressed that the owner of the business that this occurred at has been cooperative and was “distraught at the scene.” The problem, Adams said, is the promoter and the person the owner subleased the building to.

Adams said this event was an unauthorized party which was promoted through the Snapchat social media platform. Adams said this was a private Snapchat account that sent the information about the party to hundreds of kids. Attendees of the party reportedly paid for the party through CashApp.

When parties or gatherings like this occur, Adams said organizers are required to have a permit from the city, which he stressed was not done. Adams also said the department is looking into how the organizers took money to pay for the event, stating it could be “corrupt business influence.”

Adams encouraged parents and guardians to be locked in on what their kids and young people under their care are doing on social media. Adams also encouraged the parents and guardians to know where their kids are at all times.

Adams said a 16-year-old who goes to a party does not deserve to die.

“We cannot enforce our way out of this,” he said. “We need parents to step up to the plate… This is unnecessary. A 16-year-old is dead because people were promoting on social media, they show up and it turned violent.” 

IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said that there needs to be accountability for the results of this incident. What is concerning for Taylor, he stressed, is people not coming forward to police to help their investigation.

Taylor said the department is wanting to know how this party occurred, why it was unsupervised, where the security was and what led to the violence. Taylor said he understands the concerns and the fear of bringing information to the department. However without the help from the individuals there, he stressed it is an “uphill battle” for the department’s investigation.

Adams also asked the public to come forward with information. Adams said that people saw something and recordings were made and begged those who had that information to come forward to the department.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact IMPD as 317-327-3475, or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.