Less than 24 hours after a city-county councilor’s home was fired at more than a dozen times, the Indianapolis City-County Council ran mostly business as usual Monday night for its regularly scheduled meeting.
Councilor Ron Gibson, who woke up to gunshots around 12:45 a.m. outside his Devington home on April 6, attended the evening meeting at the City-County Building.
Earlier in the day, half a dozen police officers worked a crime scene outside his home, searching for evidence. A photo Gibson took shows a paper reading “No Data Centers” left on his doorstep about the same time the shots were fired.
After the meeting adjourned, Gibson, who represents District 8, condemned the violence and said he would continue to show up to work every day to represent his constituents’ interests.
“It’s okay to have disagreements. It’s okay to express yourself and show your ideas, but it’s never okay to threaten somebody with violence,” Gibson told reporters.
His main goal after the incident, he said, was to protect his eight-year-old son, who was home at the time of the fired shots.
“We’re not going anywhere. I’m coming to work every day. I’m here today,” Gibson said.
Gibson said he did not have cameras at his home, and IMPD has not announced any suspects. Additional police officers lined the Council chambers as a precaution, a Council spokesperson said.
The shooting may be related to Gibson’s recent support of a controversial data center that got approved in Martindale Brightwood in his district. Gibson said Monday that he did not regret speaking in support of the project, which he described as an economic development boon for the neighborhood and city.
At the next full Council meeting, the Council will certify approval of the rezoning for Metrobloks to build the data center.
As the meeting got underway, council members gave Gibson a round of applause as City-County Council President Maggie Lewis addressed the shooting overnight. Lewis called the shooting “unacceptable.”
“Councilor Gibson, I am so sorry this happened to you and your beautiful family,” Lewis said. “This is beyond disheartening. It is unacceptable, and I apologize this happened to you.”
“We pray with you. We pray for you. Let us know whatever you need that we can do for you. Bless you,” Lewis said.
Alysa Guffey writes business and development stories for IndyStar. Contact her at alysa.guffey@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Councilor ‘not going anywhere’ after shooting, anti-data center note
Reporting by Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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