On September 12, 2016, 26-year-old Christopher Dullen, a Black male, was fatally shot inside his residence at the New Bridge Apartments in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dullen, known to friends and family as "Chris," lived in the apartment complex located near the intersection of North Keystone Avenue and East 30th Street on the city's near-northeast side. He was a father and was remembered by his loved ones for his dedication to his children and his sharp sense of humor.
On the afternoon of the shooting, he was targeted for a robbery that escalated into a homicide involving a group of four individuals who had conspired to steal from him.
The events leading to Dullen's death began earlier that day when a group of acquaintances—Elijah Z. Harris, his cousin Malakai Harris, Jamel Perkins, and a 15-year-old named Tyson Berry—gathered at a relative's home. Berry and another associate, Shanaya Brown, who also lived in the New Bridge complex, discussed obtaining marijuana. Berry knew that Dullen sold marijuana from his apartment and had seen him with cash, information he shared with the group. They devised a plan in which Berry and Perkins would approach Dullen's door under the guise of making a purchase, leaving the door unlocked for the others to enter and rob the victim. Malakai Harris drove the group to the scene in a tan GMC Yukon, while Elijah Harris accompanied them as a passenger.
Upon arriving at the apartment complex, Berry and Perkins went to Dullen's unit while the others waited. When Dullen answered the door, he was initially holding a handgun but put it away after recognizing Berry, whom he had sold to previously. Once inside, Perkins drew a firearm and demanded Dullen surrender his property. When Dullen reached for his own weapon in self-defense, Perkins opened fire, striking him three times in the chest. As Dullen attempted to retrieve his gun again, Perkins fired two additional shots. In total, Dullen suffered eight gunshot wounds. The assailants then stole marijuana and cash from a kitchen cabinet before fleeing the scene in the waiting SUV.
The investigation moved quickly after Shanaya Brown contacted the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department the following day, expressing a desire to talk about the incident. She identified the men involved, leading detectives to the suspects. Police found. 45 caliber ammunition in Elijah Harris's bedroom that matched the shell casings recovered from the crime scene. Tyson Berry, who was initially charged as a juvenile, agreed to a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against his co-conspirators. He pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison.
Legal proceedings resulted in significant sentences for the adults involved. Elijah Z. Harris was convicted of felony murder by a Marion Superior Court jury. In March 2018, he was sentenced to an aggregate term of 75 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, which included a 55-year sentence for the murder charge enhanced by an additional 20 years. The court verified that Harris, despite being the driver and not the shooter, was fully aware of the robbery plan and participated in the felony that led to Dullen's death. Jamel Perkins was identified by witnesses as the shooter who inflicted the fatal wounds.
