2 wounded in Indianapolis JCC shooting, not thought to be hate crime

The Indianapolis skyline By C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images
Two people were wounded in a shooting at Indianapolis’ Jewish Community Center Saturday afternoon that police said they do not believe was a hate crime.
The shooting, which took place in the center’s athletic complex around 2 p.m. EST, is instead thought to be related to a basketball game that turned contentious. As IndyStar reported, a 14-year-old witness said the five-on-five matchup had involved “a lot of arguing, a lot of trash-talking.”
Both victims were in stable condition on Saturday evening.
After the incident, Shane Foley, a lieutenant with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, emphasized to reporters that there was no apparent reason to suspect the shooting was motivated by antisemitism.
At this time, IMPD does not believe this shooting was religiously motivated or in any way connected with a hate crime. https://t.co/C6o8YQxRgO
— IMPD (@IMPDnews) February 26, 2022
The teenage witness told IndyStar that they had never before seen the suspected shooter on the premises. According to the witness, the suspect fired three shots just before leaving the gym.
“”Everyone was just running out the building,” the witness said.
Police are searching for the suspect.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
