Bloomington police correct tally on Kirkwood shooting: 5 hit by bullet or fragments, 1 victim in hospital

Bloomington’s police chief Mike Diekhoff has corrected an earlier account from police about how many people were hit by gunfire during a shooting on Kirkwood Avenue between Grant and Dunn streets in the wee hours Sunday on Little 500 weekend. The number of nine injured included just five who were hit by a bullet or bullet fragments. [corrected BPD news release]

At a news conference starting at 1 p.m. at city hall on Sunday Diekhoff said while it was “originally believed that up to nine people had been injured as a result of gunfire,” investigators now think only five people were actually injured by bullets or bullet fragments. More people were hurt as they ran from the scene and suffered injuries such as cuts and scrapes from falling while running, Diekhoff said.

All of those struck by bullets or bullet fragments were women, ages 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22, according to Diekhoff. All were treated and released except one, who was admitted to the hospital in stable condition. Diekhoff said none of the victims were students at Indiana University.

Investigators believe the shooting began with a fight between two women near the Five Guys restaurant on Kirkwood, Diekhoff said. During that fight, more than two people drew guns, based on Diekhoff’s statement, and two people are believed to have fired. Diekhoff said the shooters were male. On video reviewed by police, Diekhoff said, “multiple individuals can be seen drawing handguns, and it is believed that two separate individuals fired their weapons.”

At that point, everyone started running from the scene, and officers rushed to the area to begin to look for victims, Diekhoff said. Diekhoff himself was working the large crowd scene before shooting, and was standing just a half block away from the spot where the shooting happened.

Also personally working the scene was associate vice president and superintendent for the IU police department, Ben Hunter. At the Sunday afternoon press conference, Hunter condemned the violence, praised the “unprecedented cooperation” among law‑enforcement agencies.

Based on current information, the injured women were bystanders, not participants in the initial fight, Diekhoff said.

The investigation is still underway, and police are reviewing cell‑phone videos and footage from nearby businesses. Anyone with video is urged to contact detective Chris Scott at 812‑339‑4477, Diekhoff said.

Responding to questions from the media, which included broadcast outlets from Indianapolis, additional details emerged about the scale of the gathering, the police response, and the nature of the injuries.

Diekhoff estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people were in the street. He described a festive but not unruly atmosphere before the shots were fired, saying people were milling around, talking, and listening to music that could be heard from nearby bars. Officers, he said, were interacting with people in the crowd, and the situation appeared calm.

“People were just milling about, hanging around,” Diekhoff said. “You could hear music from the bars, … but it was just really a bunch of people just kind of hanging out, walking around, talking to people. We had a lot of people coming up to the officers talking with them. It wasn’t unruly.” After the gunshots rang out, things got a little chaotic, he said.

Several officers were stationed about half a block away when the gunfire began. Asked why officers did not try to disperse the dense crowd earlier in the evening, as officers had done the night before, Diekhoff said the decision was based on both available resources and an assessment of risk. The crowd on Saturday night was larger than on Friday, he said, and the department believed that trying to clear Kirkwood Saturday night could have created more problems than it solved, given that people were in good spirits and there was no clear trigger for intervention.

“It would become a resource issue. And our belief was, if we tried to move the crowd, that that probably would have caused more problems,” he said. “There wasn’t really any reason for us to move the crowd, because everybody was pretty jovial and happy until the shots rang out.”

On the nature of the injuries, Diekhoff said one woman suffered a direct gunshot wound, believed to have traveled through her abdomen and out near her armpit. Others were injured by bullet fragments, which can break apart after striking hard surfaces such as concrete and still cause serious wounds. He described one injury as a deep cut on the back of a woman’s leg. Some people reported minor injuries from fleeing, including falls in the rush to escape, but not all of them required hospital care. Medics on scene evaluated several people and released them there.

Police recovered shell casings, but Diekhoff declined to say how many or what they might indicate about the number of guns involved, citing the ongoing investigation. Witness statements suggest that two men fired weapons, he said, but investigators are still working to confirm who did what, Diekhoff said.

Diekhoff said investigators are reviewing video from several cameras including some from nearby businesses. He said that the city’s Flock Safety system, which uses automatic license plate readers, is not expected to play a major role in the case. That’s because vehicular traffic had been blocked from the area, and police have no vehicle descriptions connected to the shooting.

Even though the city of Bloomington has allowed its Flock Safety contract to expire, the cameras were kept operational through Monday, in order to cover Little 500 weekend.

Mayor’s focus: Gun laws

Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson opened the news conference by calling it “an incredibly sad day” and unequivocally condemning gun violence in the community. She said her thoughts were with those injured and praised what she described as strong cooperation between Bloomington Police, Indiana University Police, and the Indiana State Police.

Thomson said the city routinely conducts reviews after major events or violent incidents, and that the city would again examine what worked and what did not in the wake of the Kirkwood shooting.

In her remarks, Thomson stressed Indiana’s gun laws as a limiting factor for cities that want to restrict weapons at public events. She said that while it has been suggested that Bloomington should ban guns from public gatherings, state law does not allow the city to do that.

“It has been suggested that we forbid guns from public gatherings in the future in Bloomington. Unfortunately, Indiana gun laws prohibit such action, and if the gun laws remain as they are, anyone can open carry,” she said.

Thomson encouraged residents and visitors not to bring guns to large gatherings, and urged people to speak to those who have the power to change gun laws at the state level.

Asked about the idea that the victims seemed to hail from cities outside Bloomington, Thomson said that’s actually not clear: “It hasn’t been confirmed that either the shooters or the victims were not actively living in Bloomington.” She said that Bloomington routinely welcomes visitors and that many students also come from outside the city. She said her responsibility as mayor is to keep both residents and visitors safe.

At Sunday’s press conference, an advocate with Moms Demand Action, which is an organization advocating for stricter gun laws and reducing gun violence, tried to ask a question. Thomson declined to take it, saying the city would limit questions to media. “We’re actually only taking questions from the press right now,” Thomson said.

Later, The B Square Bulletin asked the question on behalf of the Moms Demand advocate. It centered on whether Bloomington might challenge Indiana’s open‑carry law in court, given that Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté has sued the state over the enforcement of a new immigration law. So the question was whether the city had considered a similar strategy on gun policy.

Diekhoff responded first, describing efforts by law‑enforcement leaders to influence legislation at the Statehouse rather than through the courts. Drawing on his experience as past president of the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, he said police organizations had actively opposed the changes that loosened gun carrying requirements.

Diekhoff said, “[We] lobbied hard at the Indiana legislature against what they passed, because we do not believe that everybody is a person that should be carrying a gun.” He added, “From a law‑enforcement standpoint, we have done everything that we can to lobby the legislature to change the gun laws and not pass them as they did.”

After the chief turned the question over to Thomson she said, “We have not discussed lawsuits at this point.”

Looking ahead to future Little 500 weekends

Diekhoff said this year marked his 39th Little 500, and that planning for future events will start earlier than usual in light of this year’s Kirkwood shooting. He said that conversations about next year’s planning had already begun that morning. Little 500, he noted, draws visitors and alumni from around the country, many of whom return to Bloomington year after year.

He said police and city officials want to send a clear message that people are welcome to come and celebrate, but that bringing guns and engaging in violence are not acceptable.

“We need to make sure that we get the message out that guns aren’t welcome, violence isn’t welcome, but coming and having a good time is,” he said. “When guns get introduced and the fights [start], that’s when we have problems.”.