INDIANAPOLIS — A man and woman are dead following a pair of homicides over the span of nine hours in Indianapolis.
Just after midnight, IMPD officers found 23-year-old Jaylin Smith shot to death with a gun next to his body in a neighborhood near 38th and Post.
One neighbor said they called 911 after hearing arguing followed by gunshots. That neighbor then saw one man dead in a backyard and watched two suspects jump a fence and run away.
“Sadly it’s another case of unnecessary violence. It’s very sad. IMPD is doing everything they can,” said IMPD officer Mark Mcardia.
It turns out the home on Wittfield where the killing took place is currently vacant. Police said the front door was open overnight but no one was inside.
Officers on scene then followed tracks in the snow and located a stolen car parked on the same street, although it’s not clear if that was connected to the violence.
While investigating the Wittfield shooting, officers found blood splatter that led them to call area hospitals to see if anyone arrived with a gunshot wound.
A shooting victim did walk into Riley Children’s Hospital with a gunshot wound around the same time. Police are still investigating if that victim was related to the Wittfield homicide.
That killing continues what has been a violent start to the new year.
“It’s shameful actually that today things can’t be settled with less violence than what has been distributed out here,” said neighbor Darron Jackson.
Darron Jackson lives in the Villages at Mill Crossing where IMPD is also investigating a different homicide that took place on Wednesday afternoon.
Police said a woman was found shot to death sitting inside an SUV in the parking lot.
“I’ve lost a son myself to the crazy violence out here. I don’t know what caused this or anything like that,” said Jackson.
Jackson didn’t know the woman killed outside his apartment, but he does know the pain her family is experiencing because his son was shot to death in April 2018 at a home on Hawthorne Lane.
“You can’t really get over something like that. The impact it has, I can relate to how that feels,” said Jackson.
The owners of the Villages at Mill Crossing sent the following statement on the homicide:
The Community Builders (TCB) is the nonprofit owner of the Villages at Mill Crossing residential community. Our mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life reported nearby on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. TCB, along with our management company Herron Development, is cooperating fully with an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigation
Unfortunately, just 26 days into the new year, Indianapolis has already seen 18 total homicides. That is the second deadliest start to any year in recent history.
So far, no arrests have been made in either of the two homicides.
Anyone with information about the Mill Creek incident should contact Detective Dustin Keedy at the IMPD Homicide Office at (317) 327-3475 or by e-mail at Dustin.Keedy@indy.gov
Anyone with information about the Wittfield incident should contact Detective Christopher Higgins at the IMPD Homicide Office at (317) 327-3475 or by e-mail at Christopher.Higgins@indy.gov