Mass shooting at Muncie, Indiana street party leaves one dead, multiple people wounded, police say

A “mass shooting” at a large street party in Indiana early Sunday morning left one person dead, police said. A hospital said 19 people were being treated for injuries at its facility.

Muncie police responded to multiple reports of gunfire on the city’s east side just after 1 a.m., The Star Press reported. Police said in a news release that there was no active threat to the community and that “multiple” victims were injured, including some critically.

There was no word on whether anyone was arrested or was being sought.  

“Due to the number of victims and nature of the incident, multiple agencies were contacted to assist,” Muncie police said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Many police officers from the nearby town of Eaton were among those who provided assistance, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Eaton Police Chief Jay Turner called the incident a “mass shooting.”

Police didn’t say how many people were injured, but officials at Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie told The Associated Press that 19 victims were treated in their emergency department for injuries related to the shooting, and 13 remained at the hospital in stabilized condition Sunday morning. Criswell said some victims sustained critical injuries and were transferred by medical helicopter to other facilities.

CBS Indianapolis affiliate WTTV reported that a witness at the hospital described chaos at the emergency department chaos, with more than 100 people descending on the facility — many of whom were victims brought by private vehicles.  

Delaware County Coroner Gavin Greene identified the man who died as 30-year-old Joseph E. Bonner III, The Star Press reported.

Muncie police said in the Facebook statement that, “We are heartbroken to learn of this terrible incident, and our deepest condolences go to the families of the young man who was killed and everyone who was injured.”

WTTV quotes a witness who claimed his nephew was the block party’s disc jockey as saying, “Stranger comes up and decides to take it personal on somebody he knows in the crowd. And you can’t fight against an AR. He let loose in the crowd. Everywhere in the crowd.”

According to the station, Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said in a statement that, “There are far too many guns on the street, and I certainly question the wisdom of someone having a huge outdoor party with several hundred people, including juveniles, carrying on into the early morning hours. Let’s take a dose of reality.  This is not the Vegas strip or Times Square.  This is a residential neighborhood.”

But, notes WTTV, the Muncie Homecoming Festival committee issued a statement noting that the street party where the shooting happened wasn’t part of the official MHF celebration going on this week.