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Business owners say fatal shooting is rare in Broad Ripple

Broad Ripple business owners react to deadly shooting

Travis Robinson - News 8 at 5

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Officials have identified the man who was shot and killed in Broad Ripple early Thursday morning as 36-year-old Alfred James Hayes Jr.

Paramedics pronounced him dead just after 3:30 Thursday morning.

Police lights lit up Ferguson Street behind Connor’s Pub after Hayes was found dead. It’s a sight nearby business owners say they rarely see.

“It’s an interesting crowd,” said Michael Dollinger, owner of Smoking Irons Alterations. “I mean, you get all ages, young to old, and it’s usually just a pretty nice atmosphere. I go there on Wednesday’s and I go there from time to time for lunches.”

Many places around Connor’s aren’t open in the early morning when the shooting happened, so many people didn’t find out about the shooting until they reported to work a few hours after it happened.

“It doesn’t make me feel good,” said Jennifer Harvey, manager at Ezra’s Enlightened Cafe. “I feel very strongly for the family that has to deal with that. It’s just too close that- the Monon Trail is just right there. It just goes right along our businesses here. I just feel that with them being killed, that’s just not good at all. It hits too close.”

The shooting happened within a couple of blocks from many Broad Ripple businesses, but many say they don’t think it will stop customers from coming to the area.

“I’ll probably have people ask about it and stuff, but that’s the type of thing that can happen anywhere in the city,” Dollinger said. “It’s not localized to things that go on here more or less.”

Even though police didn’t capture any suspects immediately following the shooting, many nearby feel there’s nothing to fear and that Broad Ripple is still a good place to be.

“It’s been a good place to be,” Harvey said. “There has been a couple of things happen last year with a shooting at a corner bar, but there’s not been as much bad crime I would say, or anything of that nature around. This is the closest I think there is as far as inside Broad Ripple and the area that it’s in.”

Police have not released any suspect information in the fatal shooting. If you have information that could help police, contact IMPD or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.

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