Indianapolis man charged with murder in fatal shootings of 3 at apartment complex

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis man has been formally charged with murder in last week’s fatal shootings of three people at a central Indiana apartment complex, authorities said.

Malik Shaw, 24, was charged Wednesday with three counts of murder for his alleged role in the killings in Lawrence, a city contained within the boundaries of Indianapolis, on its northeast side, Marion County prosecutors said.

Shaw, who was arrested Tuesday, was being held without bond. He appeared in court Thursday for an initial hearing on the charges. Online court records do not list an attorney who could speak on behalf of Shaw, whose next court date is an April 23 status of counsel hearing.

Shaw was charged days after officers found two women and one man fatally shot on April 12 at a Lawrence apartment complex while responding to reports of gunfire, police said. The victims were identified as 19-year-old Aaliyah Wortman of Marion, 19-year-old Londyn Coleman of Warsaw and 27-year-old Spencer Lawson Jr. of Indianapolis.

Shaw’s cellphone was found near the shooting scene, prosecutors said.

An apartment complex maintenance employee told officers he heard gunshots before he saw someone chasing a man and shooting at him, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The employee said he got his pistol and ran around a building, where he saw “two suspects” wearing masks and fired at one of them and believed that person was struck at least once.

Police had announced no additional arrests in the killings as of Thursday afternoon.