Angel Z. Mejia-Alfaro, a 17-year-old male, was killed in a shooting just after midnight on May 6, 2017, on Indianapolis’ northwest side. Police and later reports placed the gunfire in the parking lot of a shopping center near the 5600 block of West 38th Street, close to the intersection of 38th Street and Moller Road, in front of an American Freight store. When officers arrived, they found three shooting victims.
Mejia-Alfaro was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were rushed to area hospitals with serious injuries.
Investigators said the violence began with an argument over shoes that escalated into gunfire. The victims were identified in news coverage as students connected to Warren Central High School, and the loss sent shockwaves through classmates and families who were suddenly forced to reckon with how quickly an everyday dispute could turn fatal. The school district publicly expressed grief and said support resources would be available for students and staff returning to class.
In the days that followed, police asked the public for help and circulated images of two “persons of interest” they wanted to question. One was described as a Hispanic male with dark hair wearing a white hoodie and a blue coat with white stripes down the sleeves, along with black pants and black-and-white flip-flops. The other was described as a male, possibly Hispanic, wearing a dark blue or black hoodie with “GAP” lettering on the front, a red shirt, black pants, and black-and-white sneakers. According to police, the pair were last seen running west and then south around the west end of the strip mall after the shooting.
Community grief quickly turned into pleas for accountability. A vigil was held for Mejia-Alfaro, where friends and classmates spoke about the toll of gun violence and urged people to choose words over weapons. Even as the crowd mourned, police acknowledged they had not located suspects, and community leaders called on whoever was responsible to come forward rather than hide.
As the investigation continued, the broader tragedy deepened: one of the other shooting victims, Dijon Anderson, later died at the hospital. His family and a local church announced a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest, urging anyone with knowledge of what happened to speak up anonymously. In the reporting available, police described persons of interest and appealed for tips, but did not publicly announce any arrests or charges tied to Mejia-Alfaro’s killing in the immediate aftermath covered by those accounts.
