Woman charged in June shooting that killed 3 in an Indianapolis entertainment district

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A 24-year-old woman has been charged in a June shooting that killed three people and sent others running in panic through an Indianapolis entertainment district, authorities said.

Kara Hinds, who was arrested Thursday, faces two counts of murder, one count of reckless homicide, two counts of battery and a criminal recklessness charge. Online court records do not list an attorney for her.

An initial hearing in the case is set for Oct. 10.

Tension between different groups of people in the Broad Ripple entertainment district early on the morning of June 25 descended into a fight before multiple shots were fired from multiple firearms, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said during a Thursday news conference.

“There was a lot of drinking going on and you cannot ignore the fact that there were way too many people who were armed,” Mears said.

The shooting killed two men, 24-year-old Tywain Henning and 22-year-old Christopher Lee Wilson Jr., and a woman, 22-year-old Kaleyia Preer. A fourth person was hit by gunfire, but survived.

According to a probable cause affidavit, a witness who identified Hinds as the shooter said someone punched Hinds in the back of the head just before she turned around and began firing.

That witness said Wilson and Henning were armed but it was not clear if anyone in the group fighting with Hinds fired shots because “it was so chaotic,” The Indianapolis Star reported.

Firearm evidence investigators collected from the shooting scene was linked back to Hinds’ Glock pistol through forensic testing, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that Hinds told investigators in a late September interview that she “felt like she was defending herself.”