'The city is sick': Another mass domestic killing rocks Indianapolis as 4 are killed

Justin L. Mack
Indianapolis Star

While talking with others outside a Marathon gas station at the end of North Randolph Street Sunday morning, Omar Villarreal ranted in the wake of Indianapolis' latest mass killing.

Between puffs of his cigarette, he spoke of the wave of violence that consumed the city last year and into this year as if it were a virus with no known cure.

At the other end of North Randolph Street, police tape and crime scene vehicles surrounded a light gray home where gunshots rang out and altered the lives of countless people just hours before.

The latest:Victims IDed in Saturday quadruple homicide, including 7-year-old girl

Three adults and one child were killed there Saturday night. A 6-month-old taken from the scene was found safe, and a 25-year-old man wanted in connection with the killings was found Sunday afternoon in the attic of an east-side home.

Villarreal said the shooting and the subsequent manhunt is the latest symptom of the city's affliction.

"It's like the city is sick," he said as two men he just met nodded in agreement. "We can all feel it. And it don't matter where you live. East side, north side, south side ... it's a (expletive) cancer. I'm praying for everyone."

Villarreal hopes more people learn about and always remember what happened on Randolph Street the night before.

"We can't just act like this is another day," he said. "Too many days like this."

Quadruple homicide in Indianapolis

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the mass shooting happened shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday inside a multi-unit residence in the 330 block of North Randolph Street.

Police were first called to the area in response to a woman shot in the upper back in the 250 block of North Randolph Street. That woman then directed investigators to the larger crime scene where police found four people dead, including a child.

The names and ages of the victims have not been released, but police believe the incident was a domestic homicide. The woman who reported it was hospitalized in stable condition.

Missing from the home was 6-month-old Malia Halfacre. Police said 25-year-old Malik Halfacre, fled the scene and took the baby girl with him.

Police have not confirmed the nature of their relationship.

Malik Halfacre was taken into custody Sunday afternoon in connection with a quadruple homicide and taking a 6-month-old baby from the scene.

Malia Halfacre was reported missing and an Amber Alert was issued overnight. Around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, IMPD officers reported that baby Malia had been located and was unharmed. No other details of her recovery have been released.

About 2 p.m. Sunday, police received information about Halfacre's whereabouts that led them to a home in the 6200 block of Eastridge Drive on the east side, near Arlington Avenue and 10th Street, according to IMPD's Cook. 

After several hours of trying to coax Halfacre outside, including the use of tear gas, IMPD SWAT team entered the home. Halfacre was found in the attic and taken from the home without incident, Cook said. He was taken into custody and will meet with homicide detectives, who will continue the investigation. 

What we know: About the quadruple killing

Tragic domestic homicides

Police said the incident on North Randolph is not related to another Saturday domestic homicide where police police searched for — and safely found — a 7-year-old boy on the city's southeast side. 

That shooting, reported around 7 p.m. in the 4400 block of Lickridge Court, claimed the life of a woman who has not yet been identified. 28-year-old Marco Pacheco-Aleman was taken into custody in Floyd County Sunday in connection with the killing. 

The shooting on Randolph Street is outpaced only by the Jan. 24 mass shooting in the 3500 block of Adams Street in terms of overall loss of life in 2021. In yet another domestic homicide, Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Elijah Childs, 18, Rita Childs, 13, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and Hawkins' unborn baby boy were shot and killed. 

Homicide investigators survey the scene around a home on the 330 block of North Randolph Street in Indianapolis on Sunday, March 14, 2021, after four people, including a child, were found dead inside a home Saturday.

Raymond Ronald Lee Childs III, 17, was arrested on suspicion of six counts of murder, which includes Hawkins' unborn child, attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license. Under Indiana law, he will be tried as an adult.

Many of those who Childs allegedly killed were his own family members. 

A study from the by the Council on Criminal Justice found that incidents of domestic violence have gone up by 8.1% following stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

Indianapolis Mayor Joseph Hogsett said in a statement that while he is grateful that the two children reported missing in the midst of Saturday's violence were found safe, the entire city is mourning the loss of those who did not survive.

"Over the last year, we’ve seen far too many tragedies occur when the proliferation of guns has collided with interpersonal conflict," the statement said. "These challenges are not just threats to our public safety, but the well-being of our community. I remain committed to locking arms with neighborhood and religious leaders to address these generational dilemmas. I urge anyone who has information about last night’s events to come forward, so that we may bring those responsible to justice.”

Homicide investigators survey the scene around a home on the 330 block of North Randolph Street in Indianapolis on Sunday, March 14, 2021, after four people, including a child, were found dead inside a home.

The Rev. Charles Harrison, board president of the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, said the uptick in fatal domestic violence needs to curbed immediately. 

"I am very concerned and troubled by the increase in domestic violence we are seeing in Indianapolis this year that has led to multiple people being killed," he said. "The quadruple homicide on Randolph Street is a sad reminder of the uphill battle we face as a city to reduce this record breaking violence.

"As a society we must find a way to address what seems to be a disregard for the sanctity of human life by too many individuals in Indianapolis."

Police tape came down on Randolph Street and the crime scene vehicles pulled off around 9:30 a.m. With them went members of the media who had been at the scene since the first call.

Quiet once again fell over the east-side neighborhood. 

The multi-unit residence in the 330 block of North Randolph blended back into the neighborhood and passersby walked and jogged past it without giving it a second glance. 

IndyStar reporter Natalia Contreras contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.