Friend of accused recounts Dutch soldier’s killing in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — The 22-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a Dutch soldier and wounding two others in downtown Indianapolis over the weekend told a friend who was with him that morning that he opened fire on the soldiers because he “just spazzed,” according to an arrest affidavit.

The friend told police that he, Shamar Duncan and another man went out in his pickup truck and ended up downtown before the shooting early Saturday, police wrote in the affidavit, the Indianapolis Star reported. Police referred an Associated Press request for the affidavit to the Marion County prosecutor’s office, which said the affidavit was sealed under court order until official charges are filed. It wasn’t immediately clear how the Star obtained it.

According to the affidavit, the pickup truck driver told investigators that someone from another group — presumably the Dutch soldiers, who were in the U.S. for training — brushed up against someone from his group, which led to pushing and shoving. He said someone from his group ended up on the ground and that they ran back to their vehicle.

The man said he was driving when one of his friends said they left their phone behind, so he stopped the pickup, according to the affidavit. He then heard gunshots.

“Shamar was shooting,” the man, who was not identified, told police, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Duncan was sitting in the back seat of the pickup, the man stated. Another witness told police that they believed the shots were fired from the truck’s backseat, according to the affidavit.

“[ The driver of the pickup] said that he yelled at Shamar because he was mad that he shot,” the affidavit states. “He said Shamar said, ‘ I just spazzed.’ ”

Mr. Duncan, 22, was arrested Tuesday and is facing a preliminary charge of murder in the shooting. He remained jailed on Wednesday and wouldn’t be eligible for release while the prosecutor’s office reviews the case, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday if the two men who were allegedly with Duncan that morning will face charges.

Mr. Duncan’s arrest didn’t appear in online court records Wednesday, and it wasn’t clear if he had an attorney who might speak on his behalf about the case.

A 26-year-old member of the Dutch Commando Corps, identified by U.S. authorities as Simmie Poetsema, died of his injuries “surrounded by family and colleagues,” the Dutch Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday. The two soldiers who were wounded in the attack suffered injuries that aren’t life-threatening, according to the defense ministry.

Investigators used statements from the surviving soldiers, witnesses, video from a bystander and surveillance video to identify Mr. Duncan as the shooting suspect, according to the affidavit.