Police say a disturbance inside the restaurant led to gunfire, and no arrests had been announced by Monday.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — A 24-year-old man was killed after gunfire broke out inside the lobby of a LongHorn Steakhouse in Castleton on Sunday night, sending diners running from the restaurant and launching a homicide investigation near one of Indianapolis’ busiest retail areas.
Police identified the victim as Justin Hignite after he was shot during what investigators described as an argument or disturbance involving several people at the restaurant on East 82nd Street, near Castleton Square Mall. Officers detained three people nearby after the shooting, but those people were later released, and no arrests had been announced by Monday. The case matters beyond a single restaurant because the shooting happened during the dinner rush in a crowded commercial district that has repeatedly drawn police attention after earlier outbreaks of gun violence.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers were called to the 5900 block of East 82nd Street just before 9 p.m. Sunday on a report of a person shot. When officers arrived, they found Hignite inside the restaurant with gunshot wounds. Medics took him to a hospital in critical condition, but he later died. Investigators said the violence began in the lobby, where Hignite and several other people were involved in a confrontation. At some point, police said, one person pulled a handgun and fired. Early accounts from investigators indicated the shooter left the scene on foot. In the first chaotic minutes after the shooting, officers spread through the area around the steakhouse and nearby businesses while frightened customers and workers tried to figure out what had happened. Capt. Rob Rider of IMPD said the scene inside the restaurant was “kind of pandemonium,” with people who had come out for dinner suddenly caught in gunfire.
By late Sunday night, police said they had detained three people at a nearby Jimmy John’s after those individuals ran from the area. Officers described them as people of interest while detectives worked to sort out their roles, if any, in the shooting. By Monday, however, local reports said the three had been released after consultation with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, underscoring how many key questions were still unanswered less than a day after the killing. Police had not publicly named a suspect, announced a probable cause arrest or detailed whether investigators believed the shooter was among the people first detained. Detectives also had not said what sparked the confrontation, whether Hignite knew the shooter, how many shots were fired, or whether surveillance video from the restaurant or nearby businesses had captured the gunfire or the escape route. What investigators had said was narrower but important: the shooting appears to have grown out of a dispute among a small group, not a random attack on restaurant patrons.
The location gave the case added weight. Castleton is one of Indianapolis’ best-known shopping and dining districts, anchored by Castleton Square Mall and a ring of chain restaurants, hotels and retail centers that draw heavy traffic from across central Indiana. The LongHorn Steakhouse sits along East 82nd Street, a busy corridor where weekend crowds are common. The area has also seen earlier shootings that left police and city leaders under pressure to reassure shoppers and businesses. In December 2024, a shooting inside Castleton Square Mall injured one person and forced an evacuation during the holiday rush. In 2022, a separate shooting outside the mall left one juvenile dead and another person wounded. Sunday’s killing at the steakhouse did not happen inside the mall, but it revived the same fears about how quickly a fight in a crowded public place can turn deadly. The fact that the latest shooting happened inside a restaurant lobby during dinner service made the violence feel especially close for witnesses who had gone out for an ordinary evening meal.
Legally, the case had moved into the homicide-investigation stage by Sunday night, with detectives processing the restaurant, interviewing witnesses and trying to identify the gunman. Once police believe they have the shooter, detectives would typically submit the case to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision that could include murder or other gun-related felonies, depending on the evidence. As of Monday, no such charges had been announced publicly. The Marion County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Hignite, 24, a step that often helps detectives confirm timelines and notify family members while giving the public a clearer picture of who was killed. Investigators were also expected to review physical evidence from the scene, including shell casings and possible security footage, and to compare witness statements gathered in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Police had not announced a court hearing date, suspect name or formal briefing beyond the initial scene updates, leaving the next milestone tied to an arrest announcement or a fuller release from IMPD.
The human toll was visible in the way officers and witnesses described the scene. Riders and diners along the restaurant row near the mall watched police lights flood the corridor while homicide detectives moved in and diners were forced out of a place built for routine family meals. Rider said the killing was “really sad and unfortunate,” adding that the violence did not only strike the victim but also the people who had come to the restaurant for a peaceful night out. That reaction captured the wider shock around the case: a public fight, a handgun and a death unfolding in seconds in front of customers and workers. For employees, customers and nearby businesses, the shooting likely turned an ordinary Sunday into a lasting memory of confusion, fear and sudden loss. For Hignite’s family, the fast-moving police response did not change the basic fact that a young man left for the evening and did not come home.
By Monday, investigators had named Hignite, confirmed that the shooting began with a disturbance in the lobby and said three initially detained people had been released. The next public step is likely to come when police identify the shooter, announce an arrest or ask for more witnesses to come forward.
Author note: Last updated March 16, 2026.