Police search for shooting suspects

IU Police Department officers are searching for suspects in an early Sunday morning shooting that occurred at 14th Street and Indiana Avenue.\nThe shooting followed several incidents at a dance sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at the Indiana Memorial Union early Sunday morning. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said he believed the shots, which were aimed straight into the air, were fired at an after-party following the dance at the Union. Minger said there were no reports of injuries, but police recovered 10 shell casings at the scene early Sunday morning.\n"The possibility of a connection (between the incident at the Union and where the shots were fired) will be looked at very strongly because (these were) incidents that involved similar descriptions, African-American individuals and reports of assault weapons in such a close proximity of time," Minger said.\nThe Alpha Phi Alpha party ended when a fight broke out during the dance. Shortly after 1:15 a.m., Minger said police responded to a group of 30 people from the dance who had gathered in the parking lot of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Officers were told another fight could possibly break out in the parking lot. When they arrived on the scene, an IU student told one officer, "Those people over there have an SKS rifle and automatic weapons," according to police reports. \nThe student described the armed subject as a black male from Indiana State University who was wearing a white jersey with the number 25 on it.\n"Because the situation was tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving," according to the report, several officers drew their handguns and approached the crowd. Officers handcuffed at least two people who were suspected of having weapons because the police believed they fit the description of the armed subjects, said Minger.\nKenneth Williams, an IU student who was one of the men handcuffed in the HPER parking lot, said officers ordered him out of his car.\n"The next thing we know the cops are pointing their guns at the car," Williams said. "I didn't understand why I was being handcuffed or why there were guns pointed at me."\nPolice released Williams and others after subsequent searches found no weapons on them or other subjects detained by officers, Minger said. No arrests were made, but according to police reports, some students in the crowd told officers they had seen weapons on ISU students who had attended the dance.\nMinger said two McNutt Quad residents, who attended the dance at the Union, later reported seeing an assault weapon at the party they attended following the dance. Graduate student Brandon Schmitt said he woke up after hearing a large crowd outside his house Sunday at about 2:30 a.m. \n"At first, I thought it was an accident because there were so many cars in the intersection," Schmitt said. "The tone seemed to get aggressive, and people up the street began yelling at another group of people near my house."\nSchmitt said he then saw a black male cross Indiana Avenue and argue with a group of men for about 10 minutes.\nSchmitt then heard what he said sounded like someone firing a weapon until the magazine was empty.\nAbby Hewitt, a University of Missouri student, said when she heard the shots, she looked out the window and saw a large black male wearing a white shirt, gray sweatpants and a hat shooting a handgun straight into the air. \n"We heard the shots go off, but it didn't sound like a BB gun," said sophomore Latara Nesbitt, whom Hewitt was visiting. "We saw the gun light up around 10 times."\nWitnesses said several cars and pedestrians passed by the intersection without stopping or appearing concerned.\n"People were questioning the noise, but there wasn't a panic or anything," said Kelly Gorgas, another visiting University of Missouri student. "There were girls on the street just walking right by them."\nHewitt said immediately after the first shots, she saw another black male exit a tan four-door car and take the gun from the initial shooter before firing two shots into the air himself. \nWitnesses said the men entered at least two cars, turned off their lights and sat at the intersection for about five minutes.\nHewitt said the suspects then started the tan car, made a right turn onto Indiana Avenue and left the scene. Schmitt said he saw another car head north on Indiana Avenue following the shooting. He said he then heard one more shot, which sounded different from the previous rounds, before the car sped away.\nMinger said officers investigated the scene hours after the shooting occurred when the two students from McNutt reported seeing a weapon at the party to a live-in officer at the residence hall. He said no witnesses reported the shooting to IUPD or the Bloomington Police Department.\nBPD officers could not be reached for comment by press time.\nWhen IUPD officers investigated the scene at about 5 a.m. Sunday, they found nine .45-caliber shell casings, one flash suppressor and a 7.62mm-by-39mm rifle casing consistent with the round used in an SKS rifle.\nOfficers also found a mark on the pavement where it looked like a shot had ricocheted, Minger said.\nMinger said since nobody was shot during the incident, it is difficult to determine the intent of the suspects.\n"We didn't really have anything that was struck by the weapon which might give us an indication that there was an intent to shoot something," Minger said. "Having weapons, whether they be handguns, rifles or shotguns ... doesn't establish any intent. It does establish concerns, though. Having weapons on a college campus, there's no need for that, even for protection."\nMinger said he is troubled that though there were many witnesses at both events, nobody called IUPD to report the shooting.\n"That's one of my greatest concerns ... no one called us, no one," Minger said. "For hours we didn't know about it until our officer at McNutt (told us). History tells me incidents like this don't happen on campus. There are a lot of things in place to keep people safe, not least of which police officers. We can only hope the community uses those resources in the future."\nAnyone with information about the incident at the Union or at 14th Street and Indiana Avenue is urged to call IUPD at 855-4111. Minger also said while he thinks officers acted well within policy and procedure in handcuffing the subjects at HPER, he urged any people who felt they were wrongfully detained or abused to report the incident to IUPD and the University.