A 24-year-old Bloomington man was shot in the head while sitting on a front porch Thursday night, and police caught the suspect walking away from the scene within minutes. Noah Slinkard was pronounced dead at IU Health Bloomington Hospital after officers rushed him to the hospital following the shooting in the 1000 block of North Illinois Street.
A Rapid Police Response
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo identified the suspect as 23-year-old Jaymon Trey Gilreath of Bloomington, who was booked into the Monroe County Jail on a preliminary murder charge after receiving a medical evaluation at a local hospital, according to The Bloomingtonian. Police received multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire around 8:15 p.m. Thursday and apprehended Gilreath just eight minutes later, at 8:23 p.m., on West 13th Street. Slinkard was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:49 p.m. that same night, per the same account.
As Fox 59 reported, officers initially responded to a reported shooting around 8 p.m. Thursday and found a man who had been shot in the head before transporting him to the hospital. Detectives spoke with witnesses at the scene, located a firearm, and reviewed video footage before identifying a suspect; a K9 officer was called in to help search the area before officers located and took Gilreath into custody, the station's report notes.
What Witnesses Told Detectives
Slinkard was sitting on the porch with another man when Gilreath approached on foot, pulled a handgun from his waistband, shot Slinkard in the head, and walked away, the outlet's report states, citing eyewitness testimony. Witnesses and bystanders at the scene told BPD detectives that Gilreath believed Slinkard was involved in a romantic relationship with Gilreath's former girlfriend, according to the same account.
Police searching Gilreath's flee route recovered a holstered 9 mm handgun near a park bench in the 1300 block of West 13th Street, which investigators believe was the weapon used in the shooting, per the outlet's reporting. The Bloomington Police Department said a probable cause affidavit was filed against Gilreath, though it remained unavailable as of Fox 59's publication, and police provided no other immediate information.
Legal Exposure Under Indiana Law
Under Indiana Code § 35-42-1-1, a murder conviction in Indiana carries a statutory prison sentence ranging from 45 to 65 years, with an advisory sentence of 55 years, alongside potential fines up to $10,000, according to The Criminal Defense Team. Anyone following the case should watch for the unsealing of the probable cause affidavit in Monroe County Circuit Court, Gilreath's initial hearing, and any formal charging decision from the Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney.
Slinkard had prior law enforcement contacts in neighboring Lawrence County, including a March 2025 arrest in Bedford on auto theft charges and an August 2024 arrest for dealing marijuana and theft, according to WBIW.
Part of a Troubling Pattern
The city's 2025 Public Safety Report, released in May, found that overall violent crime in Bloomington rose nearly 10% in 2025 even as homicide cases fell by more than 30% compared to 2024, according to Indiana Public Media. The Bloomington Police Department handled more than 80,450 calls for service last year, yielding over 160,000 police runs, while swearing in 11 new officers in June 2025 in its largest recruit class in more than 30 years, per the City of Bloomington.
The North Illinois Street homicide adds to a cluster of firearm incidents in Monroe County this fall, including a September shooting near IU that wounded a teen and a September 18 targeted car shooting on Festive Drive that injured two men. No further details have been released as the investigation continues.
