3 Shot Dead In Northern Indiana Grocery Store

ELKHART, Ind. —
A man fatally shot two women in a northern Indiana grocery store Wednesday night and was lining up to shoot a third person when police officers tracked him down and killed him, authorities said.

Elkhart police received a call about a gunman at Martin's Super Market about 10 p.m. Wednesday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Trent Smith said Thursday.

The 22-year-old gunman used a semi-automatic handgun to shoot and kill a 20-year-old employee and a 44-year-old shopper, Smith said. The victims' bodies were found about 12 aisles apart.

3 Shot Dead In Northern Indiana Grocery Store

I'm surprised this isn't on here yet.

I live about 20 minutes from where this happened... It is a sad story, and details of the actual crime have not been released yet. But it's been a strange new year so far. About a week ago, in an area walmart (around here) a guy lit the kids clothing section on fire, then ran to the electronics section and stole thousands of dollars worth of Ipads.
-then just recently (few days ago) he was chased by police and shot himself in the head on the porch of some unknown person....

Last nights shooting was just rather odd. It was a full moon, and statistics show that crime is increased on such days.. but this type of story.. frankly makes me not want to go grocery shopping anymore.

Condolences to the families of the victims.

reply to post by resoe26


Already posted under a more ambiguous title. Thought I'd let you know.

But just terrible

This is getting old.

Kallisti

resoe26

3 Shot Dead In Northern Indiana Grocery Store

I'm surprised this isn't on here yet.

I live about 20 minutes from where this happened... It is a sad story, and details of the actual crime have not been released yet. But it's been a strange new year so far. About a week ago, in an area walmart (around here) a guy lit the kids clothing section on fire, then ran to the electronics section and stole thousands of dollars worth of Ipads.
-then just recently (few days ago) he was chased by police and shot himself in the head on the porch of some unknown person....

Last nights shooting was just rather odd. It was a full moon, and statistics show that crime is increased on such days.. but this type of story.. frankly makes me not want to go grocery shopping anymore.

Condolences to the families of the victims.

I heard a snippet about this on a Chicago radio station this morning. Thanks for sharing on here, resoe.

I live in NWI, & unfortunately stories like this are quite a daily occurrence. It is a shame if such incidents are trickling over to the more eastern portion of the state. I hope that the cases you cited are isolated, & that the Chicago way of violence is not spreading. :sad:

My thoughts & prayers are with the victims & their families.

reply to post by CagliostroTheGreat


oh thanks for filling me in. I looked for a thread on this, but as you state, the title of it probably caused my failed search.
--maybe mods will delete this one?

reply to post by watchesfromwall


"Chicago way of violence"? What does Chicago have to do with any of this? Gun violence is rampant across America. Laying the blame on one city is simply ignorant.

A very direct study of gun ownership versus gun related violence found a direct correlation between the two;

The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981–2010

Results. Gun ownership was a significant predictor of firearm homicide rates (incidence rate ratio = 1.009; 95% confidence interval = 1.004, 1.014). This model indicated that for each percentage point increase in gun ownership, the firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9%.

Conclusions. We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates. Although we could not determine causation, we found that states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.

Crimes like this are tragic, but they're not really that surprising. I've come to expect news like this on a weekly, even daily basis.

Hello fellow Hoosier, I live pretty close to there also. This brings the reality of random violence close to home so to speak. I don't mind thugs killing each other but targeting innocent people really bugs me. There were 44 murders in Fort Wayne in 2013. 4 were just in the wrong place and didn't even know their killers.

Blackmarketeer
reply to post by watchesfromwall

 

"Chicago way of violence"? What does Chicago have to do with any of this? Gun violence is rampant across America. Laying the blame on one city is simply ignorant.

A very direct study of gun ownership versus gun related violence found a direct correlation between the two;

The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981–2010

Results. Gun ownership was a significant predictor of firearm homicide rates (incidence rate ratio = 1.009; 95% confidence interval = 1.004, 1.014). This model indicated that for each percentage point increase in gun ownership, the firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9%.

Conclusions. We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates. Although we could not determine causation, we found that states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.

Crimes like this are tragic, but they're not really that surprising. I've come to expect news like this on a weekly, even daily basis.

Outdated, flawed study IMO. :down:

Yes, Chicago way of violence, largely economic, drug, gang related. It is sickening and saddening with brothers killing brothers, women & children because it's become the "southside" way.

Do you live in the vicinity? If not, then look in the mirror before calling someone ignorant.

reply to post by watchesfromwall

Outdated, flawed study IMO. :down:

Yes, Chicago way of violence, largely economic, drug, gang related. It is sickening and saddening with brothers killing brothers, women & children because it's become the "southside" way.

Judging by your use of euphemisms, you clearly believe gun violence is a 'black' thing, thank you for clearing that up. I always believed it was a 'gun' thing. So next time we have a shooting, say at a middle school in Roswell, we can rock ourselves to sleep in the comfort it's just a Chicago (i.e. 'black') way of violence.

PS: the study was from November 2013. Hardly 'outdated'. The data was very stark - if you would only bother to look at it. For every percentage increase in gun ownership in a state, there was a corresponding percentage increase in gun violence. An almost 1:1 correspondence.

This is why I object to the euphemism "Chicago way". It completely undermines the real cause. Laying the blame on a city (what you're really saying is 'black gang culture') obscures the gun-related crimes that had nothing to do with 'Chicago' (i.e. black gang culture). Was the recent theater shooting by a white retired cop against a white theater patron over texting a 'Chicago' way? Roswell NM school shooting? How about the white guy that shot up a Cracker Barrel in Ohio, gunning down his wife and two daughter inside the bathrooms? Chicago way?

There is no such thing as "Chicago way" of violence. This is just America. The American love affair with gun violence.

reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71


They just held a press conference about the shooting on local radio stations.

Apparently the shooter was caught shoplifting from the same exact store 3 years ago to the day. Apparently that is what spurred the shooting.

pretty much everything else they said was about his Facebook account being really creepy, that he walked there because he lived nearby, that he has been planning this for a while, etc.

Elkhart Truth

reply to post by resoe26



Gosh do the gun'men' start early these days.. and these punks don't hold back with women and (cough) KIDS

A sign of where Amerika is headed at this rate!

watchesfromwall

Blackmarketeer
reply to post by watchesfromwall

 

"Chicago way of violence"? What does Chicago have to do with any of this? Gun violence is rampant across America. Laying the blame on one city is simply ignorant.

A very direct study of gun ownership versus gun related violence found a direct correlation between the two;

The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981–2010

Results. Gun ownership was a significant predictor of firearm homicide rates (incidence rate ratio = 1.009; 95% confidence interval = 1.004, 1.014). This model indicated that for each percentage point increase in gun ownership, the firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9%.

Conclusions. We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates. Although we could not determine causation, we found that states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.

Crimes like this are tragic, but they're not really that surprising. I've come to expect news like this on a weekly, even daily basis.

Outdated, flawed study IMO. :down:

Yes, Chicago way of violence, largely economic, drug, gang related. It is sickening and saddening with brothers killing brothers, women & children because it's become the "southside" way.

Do you live in the vicinity? If not, then look in the mirror before calling someone ignorant.

It's not the "Chicago way" or "Southside way" It's now become the American way of violence.

We get mass shootings and school shootings almost weekly not just in Chicago, the violence ranges from Roswell, New Mexico to Newtown, Connecticut

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


I said in my above post that 44 people were killed in a town near me. Twenty miles near just for the record. The local paper on last Saturday I believe had a write up about all of them including pictures. I counted 5 white people. That is not me being racist or profiling only making an observation. Most of the violence in my area is black on black. I'm not saying why or how. The mass shooting that you refer to are always disturbed kids that are on prescribed antidepressant drugs. Maybe the drugs are the problem.

Blackmarketeer
reply to post by watchesfromwall


Judging by your use of euphemisms, you clearly believe gun violence is a 'black' thing, thank you for clearing that up. I always believed it was a 'gun' thing. So next time we have a shooting, say at a middle school in Roswell, we can rock ourselves to sleep in the comfort it's just a Chicago (i.e. 'black') way of violence.

PS: the study was from November 2013. Hardly 'outdated'. The data was very stark - if you would only bother to look at it. For every percentage increase in gun ownership in a state, there was a corresponding percentage increase in gun violence. An almost 1:1 correspondence.
..

There is no such thing as "Chicago way" of violence. This is just America. The American love affair with gun violence.

I'm part African-American (father-side); how about you?

Do you just use anyone to target for your anti-gun tirade? My thoughts are with current victims at the moment.

Just moved to Chicagoland within the past couple of years.

I've lived on the west coast for most of my life, and there is a difference between regional ways of life/violence whether you want to admit it or not.

The data collection for the study you cite ended in 2010. A lot has happened in the US since then, so it's moot to me.

/thread derail over and out on this end -- my apologies to the op

Hoosierdaddy71
reply to post by Blackmarketeer

 

I said in my above post that 44 people were killed in a town near me. Twenty miles near just for the record. The local paper on last Saturday I believe had a write up about all of them including pictures. I counted 5 white people. That is not me being racist or profiling only making an observation. Most of the violence in my area is black on black. I'm not saying why or how. The mass shooting that you refer to are always disturbed kids that are on prescribed antidepressant drugs. Maybe the drugs are the problem.

I totally agree with your facts here. Sad state, but true.

What a horrible thing. Elkhart was a nice place, I grew up in Gary, IN. My family used to camp at Eby's pines, I remember going to Elkhart/Middlebury. Seems like the area was Amish country. It was idyllic we kids had the run of the place.

I'd have to say the "Chicago" style violence we see today actually started on the south side/Gary and spread like cancer into the city/surrounding areas as people fled. By the time I was an adult things were seriously bad.

The reason crime spreads is to follow fleeing people who actually have stuff worth stealing. Even if you have something nice in Gary you don't leave it out in plain sight. It gets old being the victim all the time so people move, crime follows. We left for Colorado years ago.

Our remaining family relocated to an area that was once farmland. Developers came in, overbuilt in anticipation of residents fleeing Gary. Quite a few people thought the area wasn't far enough out so a lot of new housing sat empty. Developers couldn't have that so rents dropped or units were reclassified to I believe Chapter 3 housing. Bus service from Gary was extended to reach more outlying areas as business left Gary too.

Our family hates it there but they're heavily invested/getting old. I'm glad we cleared out when we did. Take care and stay alert.

Living in an area like that isn't much different than living amongst a prison population the only difference is the criminals don't stay contained. Some towns were like a police state with cops guarding the borders. Housing costs in those areas became unaffordable, with layoffs we were priced out of the market. We either had to move back to Gary or Colorado, not a hard choice.

I can't blame guns, everyone is armed where I live now and there's very little crime. It's either domestic or criminals passing through. Criminal tourism is a fact if there's little opportunity at the home base they'll travel then slink back to safe havens where cops won't go.

So, does anyone suspect this is another false flag

Is the shooter really a trigger-happy punk?

Or, was he/it acting for compensation when he brutally murdered those women?

reply to post by gardener


That is actually one of the same questions I had... and my reasoning for coming back to ATS to see if there was a thread on this incident. (I've been on a haitus I suppose)

here is more on the case though.

Apparently, the friend of the younger woman that was killed says that the victim knew the shooter.
VICTIM AND SHOOTER

Natasha Sellers, 22, said Thursday morning that she and Dikes had been best friends for the last seven years and that she believed that Dikes knew Shawn Bair, who has been identified as the gunman. Multiple sources have also confirmed that Dikes and Bair did know each other.

then you have this psychopath... who we now know had quite an interesting history with the supermarket.
HERE

A perusal of Elkhart County court records indicates Bair was convicted in Elkhart Superior Court 4 in separate incidents. In 2009, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance, a Class D felony, and misdemeanor marijuana possession, receiving 12 days of jail time altogether and additional suspended jail sentences. In 2010, he was sentenced for theft, also a Class D felony, receiving an18-month jail term with 12 of those months suspended. He was also ordered to pay $5.89 in restitution to Martin’s Super Market.

The 2010 incident occurred at the Elkhart Martin’s on 555 E. Jackson Blvd., not the East Bristol Street Martin’s where the shootings occurred. According to court records, Bair was ordered to obtain “addictions assessment ... and follow-up” as part of his sentence in that matter. He also received an “order of commitment” and, after a probation violation, another commitment order, but additional particulars were sketchy according to records immediately available.

“If the (defendant) becomes involved in the outreach program as directed by Oaklawn as well as attends individual therapy and obtains a primary doctor or nurse practitioner,” the court records said, 90 days jail time in the probation violation will be suspended. Oaklawn Psychiatric Center is a psychiatric treatment facility based in Goshen.

Just wanted to add this isn't a black thing it's a societal thing. Imo this type of crime hits the most stressed first, in the past that typically meant poor inner city populations but now as the economy tanks more families are experiencing the same stresses and the symptoms are very similar.

The last year we lived in Gary the majority of our neighbors were very nice black families. They were as scared/victimized as the rest of us. They weren't the reason we left Gary, I hope they got out too.

In the suburbs there were entire neighborhoods, usually low cost housing, populated with the worst white trailer trash imaginable. I'm native american/latina I knew better than to venture into those "white" areas as well as parts of Gary.

It was getting impossible to navigate around the BS just to stay safe. I didn't trust most people, color didn't matter. I will admit though I was nervous around any man I didn't know...sorry guys.

reply to post by resoe26

It was a full moon, and statistics show that crime is increased on such days

No they don't.

It's an old wives' tale.