A grandmother and her 17-year-old grandson were wounded late Tuesday when gunfire tore through their home near East 34th Street and North Butler Avenue on Indianapolis's east side, with the woman struck in the thigh while sitting on her bed and the teenager grazed by a bullet. Both victims were in stable condition, and investigators say the shooting was not a random act of violence but a targeted attack on a home that had already been hit once before.
Victims Were Asleep When Gunfire Erupted
According to WISH-TV, the drive-by shooting happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday near East 34th Street and Emerson Avenue, and the two victims were asleep inside the house when the gunfire began, Capt. Don Weilhammer said. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department believes the attack was targeted, and as of Wednesday no suspects had been taken into custody. The exact injuries — a gunshot wound to the grandmother's thigh and a graze wound to her grandson — were detailed by WIBC 93.1 FM.
The home bore the scars of the attack, with at least 25 to 30 visible bullet holes on its side, the station's report notes. Neighbors who spoke anonymously described the shooting as sounding like a war zone, with several loud, echoing shots that made their windows vibrate. One nearby resident estimated that 20 to 30 shots were fired over the span of a few minutes, while a nearby homeowner said as many as 10 bullets struck the side of their own home.
Second Attack on the Same Address in Weeks
Tuesday night's shooting was the second time the home had been targeted in recent weeks, neighbors told Circle City Broadcasting, and IMPD police reports confirm a shots-fired call at the same address on September 9. Whether the two incidents involved the same perpetrators remains an open question, and police have not disclosed a motive for either attack. IMPD maintains that because the shooting was targeted, it does not believe the broader neighborhood faces a continuing threat — even as residents living nearby describe real fear over repeated gunfire striking homes along the block.
The East 34th Street corridor has seen lethal gunfire before. An earlier, unsolved fatal shooting in the 2300 block of East 34th Street claimed the life of 34-year-old Antonio Garrett on April 26, 2026, according to WIBC 93.1 FM. Just days before Tuesday's shooting, Hoodline reported a separate shooting near East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue that left a male victim in critical condition, underscoring a cluster of violence along the near east side's traffic corridors — even as Hoodline previously reported one suspect detained in that case.
Citywide Crime Trends Offer a Contrasting Picture
The violence on East 34th Street stands in contrast to broader citywide numbers. IMPD reported in September 2026 that non-fatal shootings across Indianapolis dropped 38 percent year-to-date, recording 185 incidents with 214 victims compared to 289 incidents and 345 victims over the same period in 2025, per WIBC 93.1 FM. The department also said it achieved a 40 percent clearance rate for non-fatal shooting investigations this year, well above the roughly 25 percent national average.
Preliminary figures released by IMPD and reported by Axios showed Indianapolis homicides fell 15 percent in the first six months of 2026 compared with the first six months of 2025; Axios's 20 percent figure referred to the decline in criminal homicides from 2024 to 2025. Axios also reported first-half declines in individual crime categories, including aggravated assaults and robberies. Even so, localized clusters of targeted or retaliatory violence, like the repeat attacks on the East 34th Street home, continue to rattle residents regardless of the citywide trajectory.
Potential Charges and How to Help
The intersection falls within IMPD's East District, a roughly 52-square-mile patrol area serving about 156,648 residents under Commander Michael Leepper, according to Indy.gov. Under Indiana Code § 35-42-2-2, discharging a firearm into an inhabited dwelling elevates criminal recklessness from a misdemeanor to a Level 5 felony, according to Justia Law, a charge that under Indiana sentencing guidelines carries one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Keffer Hirschauer LLP.
Police are continuing an active investigation into the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact IMPD or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS or through the P3Tips app, with rewards of up to $1,000 available if claimed within 90 days of an arrest.
