An Indiana University business school graduate was gunned down in a downtown Indianapolis parking garage while on his way to meet up with his parents at a baseball game.
Brett Scrogham, 23, died from a gunshot wound he suffered in a parking garage near the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis Thursday night, Fox 59 reported.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
A witness heard shots ring out and spotted another man fleeing the scene, but police said no suspect is in custody, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Scrogham had just graduated in May as a top-100 student from Indiana University’s prestigious Kelley School of Business.
He was on his way to meet his parents to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate team, the Indianapolis Indians, when he was killed, Fox 59 reported.
In the wake of his murder, friends and family have poured out tributes to the 23-year-old and shared the impact he had on those around him.
Close family friend Dwayne Sawyer, who said the two families bonded through the Christian Communicators of America speech and debate league, recalled Scrogham’s brilliance before his life was cut short.
“He was about to change the world. I truly, truly, mean that. Brett was that spark; he had that x-factor, if you will,” Sawyer told WRTV.
“Not only was he intelligent, articulate, young Christian man, he just had that something special still within him that I knew, we all knew, he was destined for greatness.”
Scrogham’s death reverberated all the way to Washington on Tuesday, where Indiana Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) honored the 23-year-old on the Senate floor.
Banks said friends described Scrogham as “a God-fearing Christian man” who was always willing to help people.
“Though I never had the chance to meet him, it’s clear to me that Brett was really an incredible person. And now I’ll never get the chance to meet this bright young man,” Banks said.
Banks then blasted Indianapolis officials for soft-on-crime policies he says have allowed violent crime to run rampant, taking particular aim at Mayor Hogsett.
“The Mayor of Indianapolis put out a weak statement that didn’t even mention Brett’s name, and so I wanted to come down to the floor and talk about who he was and what’s happening in Indianapolis,” the Senator said.
“Brett’s murder is the second murder in downtown Indianapolis in less than a week. Just before the Indy 500, Gregory Anderson, a father of five children, was murdered in the downtown bar district in Indianapolis. And then last Sunday, a 16-year-old teenager was murdered in the Northwest Side of Indy.”
Banks also accused Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears of refusing to prosecute violent criminals.
“Ryan Mears is a prosecutor gone rogue. He refuses to keep violent criminals behind bars and is an absolute failure of a prosecutor,” he said.
“If we keep making excuses for why we can’t enforce the law and keep violent criminals in prison, we will never have safe neighborhoods and communities — and innocent people like Brett will continue to pay the price.”
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