A welfare check call on Indianapolis’ north side turned into a double death investigation Wednesday afternoon, after officers found a woman shot in a backyard and a man shot inside the home nearby. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives say a murder-suicide is their working theory, though the investigation remains active and unconfirmed.
Officers were dispatched at approximately 1:18 p.m. to the 6500 block of Discovery Drive South to check on the welfare of a person, according to WTHR, which places the scene in a residential neighborhood near East 96th Street and Allisonville Road, just north of Castleton Square Mall. Once inside, officers found a woman who had been shot in the backyard of the home and a man who had been shot inside, along with a gun recovered at the scene, as reported by WISH-TV.
IMPD public information officer Tommy Thompson told the station that detectives consider a murder-suicide the working theory in the case, but stressed that investigators have not confirmed that the deaths were in fact a murder-suicide. Thompson said that under that working theory, there is no suspect for police to find, and the investigation remains ongoing.
No Immediate Danger to Neighbors, Police Say
At the scene, IMPD officers reassured nearby residents that there was no immediate threat or danger to the public, describing the shooting as an isolated incident. The reassurance came as investigators worked the Discovery Drive South property, a quiet stretch of the city’s north side that sits within IMPD’s North District — a patrol area covering roughly 74 square miles, serving more than 209,000 residents with about 170 sworn officers, per city data compiled by Indy.gov.
Police also urged anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to reach out for help, pointing to the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available by calling or texting 988 or at 800-273-8255. IMPD homicide detectives asked that anyone with information about the deaths on Discovery Drive South contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475, or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.
A Citywide Drop in Violence, But Domestic Cases Persist
The Discovery Drive South case lands in a year when Indianapolis has otherwise posted some of its lowest mid-year violent crime numbers in over a decade. Preliminary statistics released by IMPD in September showed a 20% decline in homicides — 53 recorded through mid-2026 — and a 29% drop in overall violent crime citywide compared to the same period in prior years, according to FOX59.
Indiana lawmakers have tried to address that risk through the Jake Laird Law, which allows law enforcement officers to petition courts to seize and temporarily retain firearms from individuals determined to present an imminent or probable risk of injury to themselves or others, per the Indiana Court Times.
Marion County courts have leaned on that tool with some regularity. An Indiana University policy brief found Marion County judges granted 222 out of 235 temporary emergency firearm retention petitions filed under the law between 2023 and mid-2025, with judges approving final retention in 67.7% of decided cases. Separately, the National Network to End Domestic Violence conducts a 24-hour census concerning domestic violence services.
In death investigations involving gunshot fatalities, the Marion County Coroner’s Office conducts official autopsies to determine the exact cause and manner of death, and withholds the identities of those killed until next-of-kin notifications are complete. No names have been released in the Discovery Drive South case, and IMPD’s investigation remains ongoing.
The case follows other suspected murder-suicide investigations reported in the region this year, including a deadly East Side street shooting in July and an April case involving a man and woman found dead inside a home on the city’s near northwest side.
