Update: On June 18, 2026, Tyrann Brown was sentenced in connection with this killing. Brown was found guilty by plea agreement of murder. All other charges against him in this case were dropped as part of that agreement. Brown was sentenced to 45 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with 609 days of time served credited.
Jerry Thompson Jr., 38, and his girlfriend were returning home from the store when they noticed two teens sitting on steps near Thompson’s apartment door.
The couple was unbothered by the teens, saying hello as they walked toward Thompson’s apartment in the 7600 block of Beverly Hills Drive on the evening of Sept. 15, 2024.
But as Thompson began reaching for the keys to his apartment, the teens ran up to the couple, gun in hand, according to court documents.
One of the teens held the gun toward Thompson’s head as they demanded he open the door. After refusing, Thompson was shot at least four times, with two bullets striking his cheek and head before the teens fled the apartment complex.
Thompson fell to the ground. His girlfriend ran screaming for help before returning to Thompson to render aid.
Neighbors called the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, but by the time police arrived on the scene, Thompson had died.
On Oct. 17, 2024, both teens were arrested and preliminarily charged with murder. One of the teens is being charged as a juvenile, while the other, Muhammadou Ali, 16, is being charged as an adult.
Marion County prosecutors have charged Ali with murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily on Oct. 22, 2024.
Police arrest two teens in connection with killing
A neighbor who saw the teens run from the apartment described them to police at the scene, according to court documents.
Shortly after the shooting, an officer traveling along New Augusta Road and 79th Street noticed the teens walking toward Eastbrook Elementary and attempted to stop them while driving his marked police car, before the teens attempted to flee.
According to court documents, the officer began chasing them and caught Ali behind Eastbrook Elementary.
The other teen evaded police by running through a wooded path near the edge of the school, hiding in a neighborhood near the school but out of the police’s search area.
At some point, while evading the police, the teen dropped his Marvel-theme backpack, which stored a loaded Sig Sauer Model P365 9mm. Officers recovered the backpack on Sept. 16, 2024, when they canvassed the wooded area with Pike Township School police. Inside the backpack, police found schoolwork with the teen’s name written on it.
While police were searching the area, an Uber driver pulled into the school parking lot and told police they were there to pick up the teen.
Officers then used a drone to locate the teen in a neighborhood several blocks away.
When interviewing the teens, Ali explained to police that he did not know the other teen, but when interviewing the other teen, police learned that Ali had the teen’s cellphone. Footage captured by a surveillance camera in the area showed the two teens running toward the elementary school together.
On Oct. 12, 2024, police completed an examination of the firearm and cartridge casing found at the scene of the killing. Police determined that the cartridges had been fired from the Sig Sauer Model P365 9mm recovered in the teen’s backpack.
On Oct. 17, 2024, police arrested Ali and the other teen, taking both to the juvenile detention center.
Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com or follow him on X @1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: A gun in a Marvel backpack and a deadly attempted robbery leads to teens being charged
Reporting by Noe Padilla, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Noe Padilla, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
