Downtown shooting puts Indy public housing agency in bullseye

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bonita Logan sat on the porch outside of her partially subsidized apartment in the 900 block of Fort Wayne Avenue.




"I'm one of many people here who are looking for other places to move."




Logan and her neighbors are still ill at ease following a Saturday night shooting in front of their homes after a man parked, exited a red Jeep Cherokee and walked up onto the stoop of an apartment at 1103 Fort Wayne to confront a woman standing outside the vacant unit.




"All of a sudden, they got out and started shooting," said Logan. "We heard three shots go off, and the next thing we see (was) someone covered with blood."




The victim is expected to survive. The woman escaped in an SUV driven by a man. IMPD tracked the pair to an apartment in a house in the 3200 block of Central Avenue, where they surrendered. Both face gun and drug charges, and the woman has also been charged with aggravated battery.




The shooting happened on property controlled by the Indianapolis Housing Agency and under a judge's order to be made more secure.

"Almost every night, I listen to gunshots and partying until 3-4 a.m.," said Logan. "They started out here in the last six months. (It has) gotten to where they have their parties, and then they will get into arguments and then start shooting."




In June, residents of Lugar Tower, a 17-story apartment building for low-income renters, sued IHA to force it to provide better security.




IMPD reports it has been called to respond to Lugar Tower more than 900 times since Jan. 1, 2023, and more than 20 times since the judge's order earlier this summer.




Last December, IHA laid off its police force and stopped hiring off-duty IMPD officers to patrol its properties.




"We do have security here, but they do not have the means or the authority to arrest anyone," said Logan. "They really don't have any way to protect themselves as well as protect us."




In response to the lawsuit, IHA CEO Yvonda Bean said in an affidavit, "It's financially impossible...for the Defendants to continue providing professional security services at Lugar Tower," and, if so ordered to do so, "Defendants would be required to close Lugar Tower."




"Right now, Lugar Tower is a hellhole," said longtime resident Edward Washington. "We have no security not doing anything. We have security, but they're not doing anything. They're just letting people come in and out like they live here."




On Thursday, IHA is scheduled to appear before a judge in response to an attempt by the Indiana Attorney General to find the housing agency in contempt of court for its failure to allegedly provide court-ordered security.




IHA did not respond to a request for comment.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/downtown-shooting-puts-indy-public-housing-agency-in-bullseye/