On the evening of April 28, 2016, 64-year-old African American male Leroy Lee was driving through the northeast side of Indianapolis, Indiana, accompanied by his four-year-old grandson. As he traveled near the intersection of Kitley Avenue and Meadowlark Drive around 7:00 p.m., the quiet drive turned violent when shots were fired at his vehicle. Lee was struck by gunfire, causing him to lose control of the car.
The vehicle accelerated through a stop sign, smashed through a fence, and eventually collided with a house in the 6600 block of Meadowlark Drive.
Emergency responders arrived to find Lee in critical condition, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, while his young grandson was miraculously physically unharmed despite being in the front passenger seat during the attack. Lee was rushed to Eskenazi Hospital, where he fought for his life but succumbed to his injuries the following morning, April 29, 2016. Family members and neighbors described Lee, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and retiree from the Army Finance Center, as a devoted grandfather and active church member who had no known enemies, leading them to believe he may have been the victim of mistaken identity.
Despite the initial assessment by investigators that the shooting appeared to be a targeted attack, the case has not resulted in any charges. Police recovered numerous shell casings from the scene that spanned several blocks, indicating a barrage of gunfire that also struck nearby homes. Over the years since the homicide, law enforcement has not publicly identified any suspects or made any arrests in connection with Leroy Lee’s murder, and the investigation remains open and unsolved.
