INDIANAPOLIS – A man was found shot to death inside a vehicle on the near southeast side early Monday morning.
Indianapolis Metropolitan police officers were dispatched around 4:55 a.m. to the 2600 block of E. Minnesota Street.
Police found a male inside a silver vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors heard at least a half dozen gunshots and came out to find the victim dead inside the car.
The driver's side windows of the car were all shattered. Five bullet holes pierced the doors, leaving a man dead in the driver's seat behind what appeared to be a bible on the dashboard.
"It's just disappointing we wake up and another family is grieving the loss of a life," said IMPD officer Tommy Thompson. "It's early morning, the first day of July, and this family is going to be hurting."
Several neighbors, who did not want to talk on camera, claim the victim didn't live in the area, but he did know people in the apartment complex. Those neighbors don't know what motivated the shooting.
Whatever the cause, IMPD continues to urges everyone to settle their conflicts without picking up a weapon.
"What do we do to better ourselves? We're human beings. We all get upset. It's controlling that. We have to do better. Why do we resort to a gun. It takes a life in an instant," said Thompson.
Unfortunately, because many of the buildings surrounding the parking lot where the victim was shot have been boarded up and a currently vacant, locating eyewitnesses or home surveillance video of the crime have been difficult.
For now, police are asking for the public's help solving the case, which marked the 102nd homicide of the year in Indianapolis.
Anyone with information about this incident should call Detective James Hurt at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317.327.3475 or e-mail the detective at James.Hurt@indy.gov.
Alternatively, they can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 or (TIPS) to remain anonymous.
Jesse Wells contributed to this report.