Documents show why shooters targeted house
INDIANAPOLIS — Addam Hart and his family signed the paperwork for their new house in February, charmed by its quiet cul-de-sac and the neighborhood kids playing outside and riding bikes. Then, he and his girlfriend got engaged on Valentine’s Day. The couple had plans to remodel the house.
A little over a month later, those dreams were cut short. Just after 1 a.m. March 28, Hart’s mother, Rebecca Roush, was watching TV in her room when she heard what sounded like firecrackers raining down on the house. Dust fell around her.
She yelled for Hart, who ran upstairs. He went to get his 5-year-old stepson, who came out of his room crying.
After a few more pops, Hart fell to the floor just outside the bedroom door.
The noises weren’t firecrackers. Investigators found 30 bullet holes in the bedroom wall, with a dozen through a window’s glass just above the boy’s bed. Roush said the 9mm bullet that hit Hart went straight into his head.
Hart, described as funny, focused and loving, died due to his injuries.
As a registered organ donor, Hart was able to save five lives. It doesn’t make up for the loss of her son, Roush said.
“You could say there was some good out of this,” Roush said. “But it was a rough night, and it still is.”
Court records detailing the case reveal the bullets fired into the home in the 2200 block of Gable Drive weren’t meant for anyone there on March 28.
The person investigators believe the shooters were looking for had moved away months earlier. That resident had been accused in several cases including rape, sexual misconduct with a minor, and child exploitation. The family had been receiving his mail.
Brownsburg investigation aids Indianapolis police
Nearly a month after Hart’s death, a case outside of Marion County offered new leads.
Brownsburg police investigating a March 29 shooting discovered a ballistics link between their case and Hart’s killing the day before.
Brownsburg police were examining reports about a woman’s vehicle being shot, striking its front passenger side window and door. A 9mm shell casing was found on the street, police said.
Two people connected with the Brownsburg shooting were detained by police. One of them told investigators a group of five people went to Brownsburg to visit someone. When the friend refused to go with them, one of the people in the car got upset over wasting gas, then put a mask over his face and “shot up” the car with a Glock 26, according to court documents.
The ammunition matched the description of the bullet found during Hart’s autopsy, police said.
One of the people detained told police Hart’s address on Gable Drive was targeted a day earlier because of a previous resident was accused of raping one of their friends.
Two people shot at Hart’s home, a witness said.
It’s unclear how many people could face charges in the case. But on Wednesday afternoon Indianapolis police announced that Savannah Allen, 16, was arrested in connection with the shooting. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has charged her as an adult with murder for aiding, inducing or causing an offense.
Roush said that shootings have lasting effects on families. Without Hart, she said “there’s no bright spot” in their home.
She finds herself calling the number of the mobile notary business Hart had just started to hear his voicemail message. A friend in Colorado who Hart played video games with sent over game recordings so his family could hear his voice.
“I had to plan a funeral for my son that was never supposed to be planned this early,” Roush said.