City seeks to curb violence on eve of WNBA All-Star Game

In two weeks, three shootings have taken place downtown, include one on July 5 that killed two juveniles and injured five others. (Adobe Stock image)

Indianapolis leaders and event organizers are in a race against the clock to quell a recent spate of downtown violence before next weekend when the city hosts the WNBA All-Star Game and Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration, two of the biggest events on this year’s calendar.

In the past three weeks, more than a dozen people, many of them teens, have been killed or wounded by gun violence in the city’s central business district. The incidents include a mass shooting on July 5 that killed two juveniles and injured six other people near the Indianapolis Artsgarden.

One fear, city officials have said, is that the tension and problems created by those incidents could erupt into additional violence—a challenge at any time but one that could be particularly damaging to the city’s reputation if it happens when thousands of visitors are downtown for big events.

The WNBA All-Star Game will be nationally televised, and Good Morning America is scheduled to broadcast from Bicentennial Plaza on July 18, putting Indianapolis in the spotlight.

“Any incidents of gun violence, even those that don’t result in death, have a devastating ripple effect on all of our neighbors and throughout our communities,” Mayor Joe Hogsett told IBJ.

Following the July 5 shooting, the mayor and the city’s police chief announced a host of changes—including the enforcement of a curfew for minors, additional patrols and cameras and stay-away orders meant to keep those accused of crimes out of downtown.

“This is what the work looks like to minimize that ripple effect,” Hogsett told IBJ. “Not only for this upcoming weekend, but really for the rest of the summer, because we do have a lot of activities that will be coming to Indianapolis—a lot of wonderful and meaningful activities.”

Downtown organizations and city leaders have said they are well prepared to safely host the WNBA and Indiana Black Expo events, but they have so far offered few specifics about how they plan to do so. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and event organizers are expected to detail those efforts in a news briefing early next week.

Through a spokesperson, Chief Chris Bailey said the agency “has had plenty of practice managing large crowds, major events and the fun that follows.” After several Indiana Pacers home playoff games throughout June, IMPD officers and other security personnel patrolled several blocks near Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the host venue for the WNBA All-Star event’s on-court activities.

That included the June 22 series-deciding game of the NBA Finals, which saw dozens of officers stationed around the perimeter of the fieldhouse where a sold-out watch party was underway and along Georgia, Meridian and Illinois streets.

In the hours after the game, police said a few fights broke out that required police intervention. None of the incidents was significant.

But at about 1:45 a.m., after most visitors had gone home and some of the law enforcement presence had abated, police say a 16-year-old on Monument Circle sprayed bullets that injured three people and damaged several buildings.

The July 5 shooting occurred a few hours after thousands of people gathered downtown to celebrate the Fourth of July and watch fireworks.

Bailey said public safety officials are working to ensure there’s no repeat event when the WNBA is in town July 18-19.

“Our focus is on creating a fun and safe environment for everyone: fans, players, visitors and our community,” Bailey said. “We’ve been working closely with our partners and planning teams to ensure a secure and enjoyable experience for all. IMPD has adjusted staffing to ensure all districts, including the Mile Square area, are properly covered.”

On the calendar

The events next weekend aren’t the only ones on the radar of local leaders and event organizers. The calendar over the next month includes the North American Youth Congress from July 23-25 that will draw upward of 35,000 visitors, Gen Con from July 31 to Aug. 3 that will bring as many as 71,000 downtown and the Drum Corps International World Championships, which is slated to bring 30,000 people to the city from Aug. 7-9.

Downtown Indy Inc.—a nonprofit group that advocates for the city’s central core—said it is working with Pacers Sports & Entertainment to plan the WNBA weekend. Efforts include the group’s Clean Team, which focuses on tasks such as removing trash and graffiti, and safety patrols responding to concerns of business and property owners.

“Our crews will be working extended hours and assigned to high-visibility areas, such as Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Georgia Street and Monument Circle, which will be most impacted by the multi-day event,” said Max Wing, a Downtown Indy spokesperson, in an email. “Additionally, public safety technology will be deployed in coordination with IMPD to provide additional camera views throughout the event area.”

That approach has become the norm for Indianapolis, particularly during major sporting and cultural events, such as the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2023, the NBA All-Star game in 2024 and Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” shows last November. The city regularly deploys an extensive security apparatus consisting of camera networks, drone and aerial monitoring, hundreds of police officers and various road closures or restrictions.

As a result, Hogsett said, families should feel comfortable participating in All-Star activities.

“I think people have every reason in the world to come down and enjoy the Fever, the WNBA All-Star Game, Indiana Black Expo,” Hogsett said. “I just hope that they would be not only responsible adults but responsible parents in making sure that their kids aren’t still hanging around downtown” in the early morning hours.

Police have said the violence downtown is due in part to large groups of teens and young adults who have been congregating downtown, often along the streets or in parking lots. IMPD Chief Chris Bailey has said that parents sometimes drop off young people late at night. And the City-County Council is planning to take steps to hold parents accountable for their teens’ actions.

Hogsett said that it’s “irresponsible” for parents not to be tracking their teen’s activities. And under planned curfews, teens under 16 won’t be allowed on the streets past 11 p.m.

“We just have to remind the young people that the curfews exist for a reason,” he said. “That is: You’ve got to go find something else to do at 11 o’clock at night; you can’t stay downtown. And we are in the process of working diligently to provide them positive, safe alternatives to take advantage of that.”

A path forward

Chris Gahl, executive vice president of Visit Indy, said the tourism agency strives to be proactive in informing leaders of conventions on the city’s calendar about incidents in the city. Over the weekend, the group shared the news of the July 5 mass shooting with leaders of the Alliance Church of the Valley, which drew 6,000 people to downtown Indianapolis earlier this weekfor its Life 2025 conference.

“When we talked to them the next morning, they had not heard of the news, so we shared with their event organizers what happened,” he said.

The call, he said, allowed Visit Indy “to offer IMPD support, to talk to them and ensure that they were up to speed.”

“To have to deliver news that minors have died in a wave of violence over the weekend was tough, and yet we have to be transparent,” he said. “We have to be real about what’s happening in the Mile Square with our visitors.”

Visit Indy also contacted the organizers of Gen Con and other upcoming events to let them know about the shooting and answer any questions, Gahl said.

Before the recent incidents, the last time downtown shootings with injuries or fatalities occurred so close together on the calendar was 2022, when four people were killed between August 21 and Sept. 19, including a Dutch soldier in town for military training.

Event organizers and meeting planners generally recognize that violence can and does occur in any downtown area, but Gahl said that the involvement of city law enforcement officials in the pitching and planning processes for the events goes a long way in helping alleviate any public safety concerns and challenges.

“There’s not a week that goes by we don’t have IMPD presenting to prospective meeting and convention organizers or greeting them to share statistics on downtown safety and police work,” Gahl said. “So it’s a constant discussion and partnership with IMPD and downtown Indy as a whole. That’s year-round. That’s decades old. That’s part of how we [sell] Indianapolis as a host city by proactively sharing safety and security information.”

Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, is leading the city’s hosting efforts for the WNBA All-Star Game and related events at the Indiana Convention Center and Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park.

She said the planning process for the event, which began last summer, builds on the city’s historical efforts hosting other major events.

“We’re replicating some of that, so we’re not starting from scratch when we have these discussions,” she said. “I’ve been in touch with Chief Bailey and the Mayor’s Office recently just to make sure we’re very buttoned up on next weekend. But those plans have been in the works literally for months.”

Raines said that event organizers work closely with law enforcement in the run-up to and during an event. A centralized security command center helps law enforcement and event organizers stay on top of situations, which can range from traffic challenges to weather issues to violence.

“You know, there’s any number of things that can come up that can change your plans during the weekend, but we’re constantly talking to each other and physically occupying the same space in order to have the right people talking in real time,” Raines said.

Cities hosting high profile events and large gatherings like the WNBA All-Star Game also face a challenge in balancing how much government power is needed to ensure public safety, said Eric Dietz, professor of computer and information technology and director of the Homeland Security Institute at Purdue University.

“As events come up, we’ll see probably a little bit overreaction, but probably appropriately, to make sure everybody feels safe and make sure people want to come back to our community again,” Dietz said of the coming WNBA All-Star Weekend.

Dietz added that Pacers Sports & Entertainment and the NBA and WNBA have vast experience with event security and will bring in extra staff for large events.

“We can’t get risks to zero, and we probably don’t want them at zero,” said Dietz, who previously served executive director for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. “We were trying to get them too close to zero during COVID, and I don’t think any of us liked how that went down.”

Curbing the issues

Bailey, the IMPD chief, said during a news conference about the July 5 shootings that parking lots and garages have become gathering spots for lawlessness and disrespectful behavior.

“I watched as bottle rockets were shot from the top of parking garages onto community members below, as roman candles were shot over people’s heads as the fireworks were going on Monument Circle,” Bailey said. “I saw people openly using narcotics, partying in parking lots, fighting all the while our officers chasing them around downtown.”

As a result, Indianapolis-based Denison Parking, which operates more than 50 garages and surface lots in the downtown area, is taking multiple steps to increase security at its sites.

Denison President C. Perry Griffith III said that includes working with IMPD on remote lighting and camera towers at some locations and allowing officers to stage operations at the facilities.

“We have volunteered and really, frankly, given them carte blanche access to all the lots that we manage where that would be helpful,” he said. “As they need to, they can move those around to address challenges as they evolve over the course of trying to get the problems under control.”

He added that typically, much of the worst behavior happens between about1 a.m. and 4 a.m. According to IBJ research, about two-thirds of downtown’s 43 homicides since 2010 have occurred between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Few have occurred in parking lots or garages.

Griffith said Denison has also increased its own security personnel at surface lots and garages and has roving patrols with flashing lights. It is also working with the nonprofit Indy Public Safety Foundation on security strategy ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game.

Representatives of downtown hotels also say they are in contact with local authorities and have security measures in place for WNBA All-Star Weekend.

Phil Ray, general manager of the JW Marriott, which is sold out for All-Star Weekend, said the hotel works with individual groups to help determine their specific security needs.

“Generally, the additional needs are within the hotel space and to assist with any high-level VIPs,” he said in an email. “We are always working with IMPD and the Downtown District to keep all of our groups and guests safe.”

The upscale Conrad hotel, located near the site of the July 5 fatal shooting, said it was looking forward to welcoming guests in the city for the WNBA All-Star Game, although it declined to say how many rooms have been booked for the event.

“While the property has not been directly affected by the incidents you reference, our teams regularly maintain close contact with local authorities, ensuring we stay informed and ready to immediately respond,” Gina Carriazo Hickey, a spokesperson for Conrad Indianapolis said in response to questions about downtown security after the Fourth of July shooting.

She said the hotel team is experienced in managing major public events and continuously reviews safety and security procedures to ensure they are in line with industry best practices.”•