One arrest in shooting; seven injured near Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. — A shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said.

It’s not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles southwest of Muncie, Police Chief Joe Winkle told WXIN-TV.

Winkle said it appears the shooting happened after “some kind of confrontation inside the house.” Some of the victims were Ball State students, he said.

“I think anytime you have a DJ and you get word out there that there’s a party there, you are gonna draw a bunch of different people from all over town, so I think that’s probably what’s happened,” Winkle said.

VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police told The (Muncie) Star Press.

Harnett is not a Ball State student, the university said in a statement. One of the shooting victims is a student who has been treated and released from a Muncie hospital, the statement said.

“Keeping all members of our campus community safe is a top priority,” University President Geoffrey S. Mearns said. “This is a very unfortunate event. We wish all the victims a full and prompt recovery.”

Stella East, a Ball State sophomore and a Muncie native, told The Star Press that she was in the home’s backyard when the shooting took place. She said about 50 people were inside and 50 outside when she and a friend heard five to 10 shots from inside the house. After a brief pause, they heard about 30 more shots, moving from inside to outside.