A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Indiana that left one person dead and 17 others injured during a block party over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.
John L. Vance, 36, was preliminarily charged with several unspecified felonies related to the attack in Muncie. Evidence will be presented to the Delaware County Prosecutor’s office for possible additional charges.
“This doesn’t solve the pain, but we hope this can move our community towards some closure,” Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour said in a statement.
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The shooting occurred early Sunday, and left 30-year-old Joseph E. Bonner III dead. He was among a crowd attending a large party in the city about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Muncie Police Chief Nathan Sloan said police were aware that the owner of a business that periodically rents out space for events was hosting a block party that got “out of control,” with between 500 and up to 1,000 in attendance. Photos of the scene showed police tags marking what appeared to be dozens of bullets on the street.
He said authorities were calling on the owner of the venue to shut down the party.
“We made a phone call to the owner and asked him to get things shut down,” Sloan said during a news conference. “The streets were packed. Before we could make contact and get something done, before we could get that shut down, the gunfire erupted,” Sloan said during a news conference.
Three victims are in stable condition in Indianapolis hospitals and another four are patients at Ball Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
