INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA — A woman’s life was likely saved by one of her nephews who shot another nephew who was brutally attacking her early Sunday morning. The victim spoke with a local media outlet and provided a personal account of the incident, which occurred just after 3 a.m. at her home in the 500 block of Eugene Street.
According to her, a 28-year-old nephew came to her home and became upset with her when she refused to let him enter the house. “He threw me to the ground and stomped on my face and stomped my head and punched me in my face,” she said.
During the assault, another nephew in his teens who was inside the house emerged with a gun and intervened in the attack. “Then my nephew just started shooting. Then my other nephew was still hitting me and so then he got up and ran and went down the street and fell.”
When officers arrived, they separated and questioned the woman and the nephew who came to her defense. The nephew suffering from gunshots was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The teen was released after questioning by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Homicide detectives, who have said that the shooting may be found to be “possible defense of a third-party individual.” The incident will be reviewed by the Marion County Prosecutors Office for a decision on any possible charges.
According to the victim, her older nephew had struggled with mental illness since he was a child. “He was hospitalized for a couple days and then they just released him, and he was good for a while but then he started back snapping the last two or three days.”
She stated that officers had previously told her that he could be arrested for trespassing if they found him on her property. “When you’re continuously calling the cops and continuously telling them, ‘This person has a mental issue, do something. I don’t want him to be hurt but I want you to help him. These people are needing help, they’re needing help.’ I think they should be mandated to have to take their medicine.”
Summarizing the incident, the victim said, “My nephew was here, and he was very upset because I wouldn’t let him come in and he beat me up and wouldn’t get off of me and my nephew came and shot at my other nephew.”
Asked what would have happened if the younger nephew would not have intervened, she replied, “Then I was probably gonna be dead. I probably was gonna be stomped in my head to death. This would be a whole other issue and you would be talking to my mother.”
“He (the one who defended her) loved the both of us. He loved his cousin. He loved his auntie. He was stuck in a sticky situation and so he did what he thought was the right thing to do.”
