ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) - Anderson Police are investigating the first homicide of the new
year. Someone shot a man to death just before midnight in the 1100
block of Home Avenue, just off of State Road 32.
A detective working the case said they haven't arrested any
suspects, but they have some pretty good leads.
"Oh gosh, it's too close to the neighborhood; scary," neighbor
Sharon Brower said.
It was in the 2 story home that police officers found a 23-year
old man dead on the floor, shot to death. A neighbor we spoke with
said it sounded like fireworks, but when officers arrived, she
realized it was much more.
Several neighbors heard the sirens but never imagined someone
had been shot just a few doors down.
"I heard sirens last night about 11:30-12:00. I looked out the
window right there and there was police sitting there, squad cars
coming this way," neighbor Clarence Burton said.
"It's pretty scary, nothing's ever happened like this before. I
saw all the lights last night, it woke me up, seen all the cops, I
didn't know what was going on," Sharon said.
Neighbors said yes, this was a scary event but they still feel
safe here and have no intentions of moving from their
neighborhood.
It was a neighbor who called 911. Officers say the front door
had been damaged, perhaps indicating forced entry. Now the door is
sealed shut by police, and you can still see the fingerprinting
dusting.
Police identified the victim as Rodney Clay.
"At this point the investigation continues, we've got a little
bit of a who done it. We've got some leads and we've been doing
some neighborhood canvassing and we've had a number of different
interviews, but right now we're still looking for a viable
suspect," Detective Mitch Carroll with the Anderson Police
Department said.
There were toys on the front porch. It's believed a woman and
child also live at the home, but weren't there at the time of the
shooting.
Now police are hoping that if anyone heard or saw anything,
they call police.
"We're going to throw everything at it, and we have, all of our
resources, it's the pinnacle of crime, so what we're hoping for now
is a little cooperation from the community," Det. Carroll said.
If you have any information, you're asked to call Anderson
Police Department at (765) 648-6775.