Police arrested an 18-year-old man after the shooting, but investigators have not determined whether he fired any of the shots.
BLOOMINGTON, IN — Seven people were wounded early Sunday in a shooting on Kirkwood Avenue near Indiana University’s Bloomington campus, police said, prompting a multiagency response and an investigation into who opened fire in a crowded downtown area.
Bloomington police said officers from the Bloomington Police Department and Indiana University Police Department were already monitoring a large crowd near Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 1 when they heard multiple gunshots in the 400 block of East Kirkwood Avenue. All seven people wounded in the shooting were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Police later said they were in stable condition and no deaths had been reported.
The injured included four males and three females ranging in age from 17 to 27, according to an updated police statement. Six provided home addresses in Indianapolis and one provided an address in Greenwood. Police said none of the seven were believed to be Indiana University students. Those who gave statements to detectives said they had traveled to Bloomington to party and celebrate Halloween. Three of the injured people were believed to have required surgery.
As officers moved toward the gunfire, they saw a man carrying a firearm running northeast from the area, police said. Officers chased him and took him into custody east of Indiana Avenue near Dunn Meadow. A firearm described by police as an AR-15-style handgun was recovered nearby. Investigators said they had not determined whether the man fired the weapon during the shooting.
The 18-year-old Indianapolis man was arrested on allegations of resisting law enforcement and unlawful possession of a firearm, police said. Authorities did not release his name in the update. His arrest does not establish that he was responsible for shooting the seven people, and investigators said they were continuing to determine who fired weapons during the incident.
Crime scene investigators found spent shell casings from two different firearm calibers near 420 E. Kirkwood Ave., according to police. Witnesses reported hearing four to six gunshots, but investigators had not established the total number of rounds fired or how many people fired weapons. Police also said one of the people who was wounded had an AK-47-style pistol, which officers collected. Authorities did not say whether that firearm had been fired.
Preliminary information indicated that some type of disturbance occurred within the large crowd shortly before the shooting, police said. Authorities had not announced a motive or identified what led to the disturbance. Indiana State Police joined Bloomington and Indiana University officers in responding to the scene.
The shooting occurred in downtown Bloomington near the university campus during a busy weekend that included Halloween celebrations and Indiana University’s homecoming activities. Police have not established that the shooting was connected to the university or its events, and the injured people were not believed to be IU students.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance video from the Kirkwood Avenue area in an effort to identify those responsible for the shooting. Police said the investigation remained ongoing Sunday and had not ruled out the possibility of additional gunshot victims who had not been identified.
Author note: Last updated November 1, 2026.