A peaceful afternoon of swimming at an apartment complex pool turned into a violent exchange of gunfire when a woman sparked a heated argument with a passerby, according to eyewitnesses.
Multiple witnesses at Lawrence Landing Apartments on the evening of July 8 identified Reggie Horton, a 27-year-old resident of Indianapolis, as the shooter in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Dartanian Cole. Horton was subsequently arrested.
According to witnesses who spoke to Indianapolis metro police investigators, Horton was in the company of two other women at the pool. The trio had been swimming before relocating to one of the women’s cars, which was parked adjacent to the pool area.
Multiple witnesses reported that one of the women was being loud and confrontational, leading to a heated exchange with Cole as he passed by the group. After the altercation escalated, the woman allegedly ran up to Cole and grabbed his shirt, continuing to argue about the need for honesty and directness in communication. Cole’s response to the situation is unknown at this time.
Horton faced accusations of intervening and throwing a punch at Cole, which ultimately missed its target. However, this led to Reggie pulling out a gun and firing multiple shots at Cole before all three individuals fled the scene.
According to a witness, Cole was seen reaching into his backpack just before Horton drew his weapon and fired shots.
According to the documents, Horton claimed that Cole had unzipped his backpack and was reaching inside when the police spoke to him. He also warned Cole not to reach inside the backpack and even fired two warning shots.
According to court records, Horton had two outstanding warrants from Hamilton County during the shooting incident – one for armed robbery and the other for escape.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials were unable to locate Horton’s firearm or the red shorts that he had allegedly been wearing at the pool when the incident occurred. These items were not found during the search of his vehicle.
After being apprehended, Horton was transferred to Hamilton County Jail to face his outstanding warrants. Authorities plan to extradite him to Marion County Jail, where he will be charged with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.
