2 race fans injured in robbery, shooting near speedway; same parking lot where man was killed
5/25/2014INDIANAPOLIS — A robbery and shooting left two men injured early today, authorities said, just 24 hours after an Indiana man was fatally shot in the same parking lot near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Multiple people approached two men after 2 a.m. Sunday in the Coke Lot, Speedway Police Department Lt. Trent Theobald said, and one man was beaten and had his personal items stolen. Theobald said the suspects fled and the second man chased them, but was shot.
Theobald said the shooting victim is in serious condition at an Indianapolis hospital, and the robbery victim is in fair condition. He could not provide additional information about the suspects or victims.
The robbery and shooting happened just hours before the start of the Indianapolis 500. The Coke Lot is one of several parking lots near the speedway, where for decades thousands of fans have camped out and partied on race weekend.
A day before, Max Levine, 25, from Kokomo, was shot and killed after an argument early Saturday morning in the Coke Lot. Avory Johnson, 19, of Indianapolis, is being held without bond in the Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Brian Olehy said Saturday that the fatal shooting was unusual. In 2012, a fan was hospitalized after he was shot in the chest after an apparent altercation across from the speedway.