On June 2, 2019, the quiet of an early Sunday morning in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, was shattered by gunfire near the intersection of South Meridian Street and South Street. Officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were already in the area when the violence erupted around 1:30 a.m. One officer patrolling nearby reported hearing a gunshot from a parking lot and then witnessing a chaotic scene unfold.
A man was seen chasing another individual before firing a weapon, striking the fleeing victim. The victim, identified as 33-year-old Jeffery Lynn Reed, a Black male, collapsed near a railroad bridge and was pronounced dead at the scene by responding medical personnel.
Law enforcement officers immediately apprehended the suspect, 30-year-old Eric Middlebrook, who was taken into custody without incident. The shooting was quickly characterized by investigators as a targeted act rather than a random crime. Further inquiries revealed a deep-seated history of conflict between the two men. Records indicated that Reed had previously served time in prison for the 2014 death of Middlebrook’s brother. He had been released from custody earlier that year, setting the stage for the fatal encounter. Reports suggest that prior to the shooting, the two men had engaged in a physical altercation at a nearby bar, during which Middlebrook was allegedly struck with a bottle before retrieving a firearm from his vehicle.
Following his arrest, Middlebrook was charged in connection with Reed's death. Despite the testimony of the officer who witnessed the shooting and the apparent motive rooted in retaliation, court documents cited in local media reports indicate that Middlebrook stood trial for the murder charge in 2019 and was acquitted. His legal troubles, however, did not end with that verdict. In 2021, Middlebrook was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after a separate investigation by the ATF and local police convicted him of trafficking methamphetamine in the Indianapolis area.
