Police: Teenager shooting isolated

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MCCORDSVILLE — An Indianapolis teenager shot at a home in a McCordsville neighborhood last month likely will be paralyzed from his injuries, officials said.

Weeks after the boy was rushed to a hospital following the shooting at a home in the Austin Trace subdivision, located on Hancock-Marion county line on the county’s northwest side, investigators are releasing new details about the incident.

Police do not believe anyone else is in danger; it appears the injured teen was targeted and followed to the residence on Odesa Way where he was shot, said McCordsville Police Chief Harold Rodgers.

Rodger said his officers have identified a suspect, but they aren’t releasing any information about the person. They still are working to gather information, and the investigation is ongoing, he said.

Seventeen-year-old Eric Edwards III of Indianapolis was shot in the back late Sept. 16 by someone officers believe followed the victim to McCordsville from another location. Investigators believe the shooter waited for the teen to arrive at the home, which sits in the 6700 block of Odessa Way, and fired into the home through a back window, striking the boy.

Information about where Edwards was coming from and what he was doing prior to the shooting has not been released by investigators. The teen’s connection to the family living in the McCordsville home where the incident occurred has also not been made public.

Edwards was rushed to an Indianapolis hospital following the shooting. He remains in the hospital in stable condition, but doctors believe the teen will be paralyzed from his chest down because of a bullet lodged in his spinal cord that cannot be removed, Rodgers said.

Police officers were called to a home sitting near the intersection of Odessa Way and Laredo Drive, in the heart of McCordsville’s Austin Trace subdivision, around 11 p.m. at Sept. 16 after hearing reports a person had been shot.

Detectives and crime scene investigators from at least three county law enforcement agencies came to the scene, blocking the roadway, roping off the home with caution tape and spending hours searching the place and interviewing witnesses.

Police dogs reportedly searched the area as well, and homeowners in Austin Trace were warned by first-responders to stay inside their homes while investigators combed the area.

Officers were on scene until about 3 a.m. the next day, but they released few details about what they’d determined happened in the shooting.

Now, Rodgers said his detectives are working closely with investigators from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to determine if the shooting in McCordsville could be connected to others in Indianapolis.

Police have no reason to believe any McCordsville residents are in danger, Rodgers said. Detectives believe the home was targeted because Edwards was inside. It’s likely the shooter hid outside the residence waiting to take a shot at the teen, Rodgers said.

Anyone living in Austin Trace or near the area of the shooting who noticed anything suspicious on Sept. 16 is asked to call 317-477-4400 with information. All leads will be investigated, police said.