Indy Gay Bar Target Of Drive-By Shooting

A street-front window of a downtown Indianapolis gay bar was shattered by a gun shot Saturday night according to the bar's owner. IMPD is treating the broken window as being caused by "possible gunfire", but the bar's owner says that he is certain it was caused by gunfire. From the Star:

Police are investigating a possible drive-by shooting at an Indianapolis gay bar, but the bar’s owner said he is certain the blown out window is more than a random act of violence and may be a hate crime.

A large picture window at Greg's, a gay bar on East 16th Street, was shattered Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. by what police say was “possible gunfire.”

But the bar’s manager is certain it was gunfire, and certain, too, his place was targeted because it caters to homosexuals.

“It was obviously a bullet,” said Phil Denton, the manager who was working at the time. “We’ve had rocks thrown at us, and names shouted at us, but never before a bullet.”

No bullet was found and no one was injured.

A police report characterized the incident as “vandalism” and said there were “no suspects or witnesses.”

Denton said that based on his discussions with bar patrons he believed a shot was fired from an eastbound car and that the car was “a Mercury or a Lincoln.”

More than 600 IMPD officers were patrolling downtown Saturday night due to the large number of people gathered for the final night of Indiana Black Expo, an event that has been marked in past years by numerous shootings and multiple arrests. City officials said this year's event was free of violence.