Indianapolis police are investigating after a man was shot and killed when he answered his door late last night, marking the city’s 145th criminal homicide in 2016, breaking last year’s record-setting total of 144, the Indianapolis Star reports. In the most recent killing, a 48-year-old man was shot instantly when he responded to a knock on the door at a residence on the city’s east side. Indianapolis’ 145th homicide comes near the end of the city’s first year under Mayor Joe Hogsett, who ran a campaign message centered on reducing violent crime. Hogsett quickly appointed Troy Riggs, who served as Mayor Greg Ballard’s Director of Public Safety, as his police chief.
Together, they pledged to increase community policing and outreach in some of the most criminally active neighborhoods while continuing a larger push to address the systemic issues that lead to crime. The record-breaking killing came on the same day Riggs announced his resignation, citing financial reasons. Officials have said root causes such as poverty, substance abuse, and mental illness are on the rise as Indianapolis’ population grows, but they also point to a decrease a non-fatal shootings in the focus areas that are a central component of Riggs’ crime-fighting plan. In those areas, the department carves out neighborhoods that experience a high-rate of violence for beat patrols and wraparound social services. When Riggs looks at the data, he sees a pretty basic problem driving the city’s homicides: Too many people are settling arguments with gunfire.