Motive not clear on Lafayette Laundry shootings
Lafayette man killed ID’d, along with two others wounded. Police say shooter was from Nebraska. Plus, DNA of bones found near Wabash were of missing Purdue grad student. And Scouts’ big day at Purdue
Thanks today for ongoing help from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette, presenting a holiday lineup including Christmas in the Air, Luminare Christmas, Ashley McBryde and more. For tickets for the show and details for other events, go to longpac.org.
Sponsorship help for this edition also comes from Purdue Musical Organizations. The 91st Annual Purdue Christmas Show, three shows Saturday and Sunday, is the must-see event of the year! Gather your family and friends, and create lasting memories as you sing along to your favorite songs and marvel at the extraordinary Purdue student talent on display. Get tickets here.
MOTIVE NOT CLEAR ON LAFAYETTE LAUNDRY SHOOTINGS
Police say a man who went into Lafayette Laundry with a gun Thursday night killed one man and wounding two more people, before shooting himself in the parking lot at 3100 South St.
Lafayette police say the man, listed in critical condition at an Indianapolis hospital, was believed to be from Lincoln, Nebraska. LPD Sgt. Shawn Verma said that as of early Friday afternoon, police didn’t know a motive or the relationship between the man with the gun and the victims. Police had not released his name, as of Friday afternoon.
Keith Ford, 35, of Lafayette, was shot and killed, dying Thursday evening at IU Arnett Hospital in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said Friday afternoon.
Two others in Lafayette Laundry were shot Thursday and were hospitalized in Lafayette. Verma identified them as:
Renee Martin, 32, of Lafayette.
Salvador Antonio De La Cruz Reyes, 30, of Lafayette.
Verma said police believe there were five people, all adults, inside the laundromat Thursday when the man walked in with a gun.
Police reported that they received a 911 call at 7:41 p.m. Thursday about someone with a gun at Lafayette Laundry. Quickly after that, LPD reported a call about shots fired at the laundromat. Verma said the three victims were found inside the laundromat.
South Street was closed over night after the shooting, reopening late Friday morning.
Verma said Lafayette investigators were in touch with the Lincoln Police Department to get more information about the man.
DNA OF BONES FOUND NEAR WABASH RIVER WERE OF MISSING PURDUE STUDENT
DNA results from a femur found in October by someone fishing near Wabash Bottoms Park in western Tippecanoe County and a skull found in May at Black Rock Nature Preserve in Warren County showed the bones were those of Anik Paul, a missing Purdue graduate student, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello reported Friday.
Paul was 32, of Bangladesh, when police say he jumped from the John T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge across the Wabash River on in the early morning hours of July 3, 2023. Dive teams searched for him in the river for several days without finding a trace. At the time, Purdue listed Paul as a student in the department of biochemistry.
According to Costello, the cause of Paul’s death was undetermined, with the manner of death as suicide. She said a forensic anthropological report of the remains “did not find any evidence of trauma that would have contributed to Paul’s death.”
ABOUT ALL THOSE SCOUTS ON PURDUE’S CAMPUS SATURDAY
More than 1,000 Scouts from 15 states will be on Purdue’s campus Saturday for the annual University of Scouting event.
Bryon Haverstick, COO of Scouting America Sagamore Council, says the event has grown by 80 percent since last year, “which at that time was the largest such event.” Here, he talks about why – and how there are ways to get involved, even if you’re not in Scouting.
Question: Give an overview of what’s happening Saturday. What’s going on that day?
Bryon Haverstick: This event is called University of Scouting. It’s a day of learning in essence. Scouts have the ability to earn one to three merit badges depending on their schedules. There are 137 merit badges in the Scouting program, we are offering 104 of them. That is the largest event offering we believe in the country at such an event. Meanwhile, our volunteer leaders have supplemental training classes they can take such a CPR, QPR Suicide Prevention training, Scouting position training, etc. Our Cub Scouts have different STEM adventures that they can work on that day. It’s an event that appeals to all audiences in the Scouting program.
Knowing we’d have nearly 2,000 plus people at the event we thought we’d find a few ways to make a larger impact than just “selfishly” working on our own individual growth and learning, so we built in a toy drive and a blood drive. These two components help our community both local and nationwide. In the Scout Oath it says that we are to “do my duty to God and my Country … to help other people at all times.” That’s what we are doing,
Question: When did the Scouts start this event, and how big was it then?
Bryon Haverstick: I don't have a date. This isn’t new. I’ve been a Scouting professional for 20 years and these types of events have been happening my entire career in similar formats all across the country. I’ve hosted them in small community colleges and SEC and Big Ten schools. What makes this unique or special is that we have over 100 merit badge offerings. That is unheard of. It’s double what we offer at our National Jamboree that happens every four years, and that is a life-changing event. We believe it is the largest event based on offerings in the country. No one in my Scouting circle can tell me otherwise. We have people coming in from 15 states as far west as California and Arizona, North Dakota to the north, and New York and New Jersey to the northeast, and South Carolina to the south. This is double the states we had coming last year. We had just inside 700 participants last year – our largest at that point – and this year we are right at 1,300. It 2021 we had 283. Jimmy John’s has their work cut out for them for lunch.
Question: How did it get to be as big as you expect it to be Saturday?
Bryon Haverstick: The expansion of classes is the main driver. If you offer more, you give more people the opportunity to come. Social media helps a ton in today’s world. It’s easy to spread the word about these types of events and create a buzz.
Question: For those not familiar, what’s the attraction that brings Scouts from so far away?
Bryon Haverstick: We have quality instructors for our badges. I tell people all the time, just because you have a telescope doesn’t mean you can teach Space Exploration and Astronomy Merit Badges. This insinuates a hobbyist being qualified. Some could, sure, but we have the Purdue Space Program and the Wabash Valley Astronomical Society teaching those two classes, as an example. That helps. People want to be a part of “something.” Experience something perhaps they haven’t done before. This is definitely a something. We have professionals in their appropriate industries giving back that day – Subaru of Indiana Automotive both instructing and as our title sponsor, Old Dominion Freight Lines, Brenneco Plumbing, D.A. Dodd, Huston Electric, Ninni Co., Halsema Custom Crafts, WLFI and so many more. It’s almost unfair not to list them all.
Just the name Purdue University is a draw. Our campus support is immense. The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is our host, and we can’t thank them enough. If we didn’t have their support we couldn’t do this event, literally, it would be impossible. There are so many pieces though – admissions, athletics, parking, technology, facilities, security, etc. Purdue welcomes us with open arms, and we are forever grateful.
Question: By the end, what will have made the day a success? What would that look like?
Bryon Haverstick: Success is nearly 250 volunteers coming together to execute this thing. Success is a Scout walking away with a spark of a potential lifelong hobby or career choice that they can stoke to a fire as they grow. Success is a Scout enrolling at Purdue after high school to further their education in a field that they were exposed to from this event. Success is a leader getting trained on a topic that helps them go back to their home community and impact the lives of our nation’s youth in a positive way. Success is collecting 51 pints of blood so we can help 100-plus people in need of blood across the country. Success is collecting so many toys that Lafayette Urban Ministry has all of their needs met so the families in our community, with holiday needs, have everything they need to have an amazing holiday season with their family.
Question: Tell me about the toy drive you’re blending in with the day. And is it something people not involved with the Scouting event can get involved with?
Bryon Haverstick: The public is encouraged and welcome to bring new toys and clothes for the drive. The target is gifts for youth 10- to 12 years old, but all are welcome. The Russell Company, a local real estate company in West Lafayette, has donated their box truck, named “Boxy.” It will be on site from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in front of Class of 1950 Lecture Hall at 648 Oval Drive for drop off. We are just the middle man here. Lafayette Urban Ministry collects these items for their Jubilee Christmas event and we just want to use our efforts to help them. A Scout is helpful, after all.
Question: What other context should people know?
Bryon Haverstick: The biggest takeaway here is that Scouting is thriving. Our new brand of Scouting America speaks to our inclusivity on serving the whole family Scouting changes lives and provides young people with life changing experiences, programs, life skills, and character development that prepare them for their futures. We serve boys and girls from kindergarten to their 21st birthday in youth programming and then have volunteer opportunities for a lifetime. Scouting is the thing you can do at 7, 15 or 20 years old that will still matter when you are 50. Anyone interested in learning more about Scouting can reach out to me or go to www.beascout.org to find a local unit near them.
OTHER READS …
From Casey Smith at the Indiana Capital Chronicle: In a split decision, Indiana’s Supreme Court justices issued an order Thursday evening denying requests by death row inmate Joseph Corcoran’s lawyers to delay his impending execution date and allow for his case to be reviewed or his sentence overturned. Corcoran wrote his own filing with the state’s high court, telling justices that he wasn’t interested in more delays, either. The full story here: “Indiana Supreme Court declines to halt execution, allow for case review.”
As Gov.-elect Mike Braun builds his cabinet, he announced Thursday that he’s sticking with Katie Jenner as secretary of education. Rachel Fradette at WFYI had this look at Jenner and at Braun’s K-12 school agenda: “Mike Braun unveils first-term education goals, keeps Ed Secretary Katie Jenner.”
From Indianapolis Star reporter Hayleigh Colombo, Indiana Democratic Party adopted a new code of conduct Thursday night after a string of accusations of sexual harassment by several high-profile party members. For the full story: “Indiana Democrats make sexual harassment rules, say they'll investigate allegations.”
Gold and Black reporter Tom Dienhart had some of the scuttlebutt, theories and speculation about who’s next at Ross-Ade Stadium: “Day Five: Purdue's search for a head coach.”
ICYMI: TIM’S PICKS, AT YOUR SERVICE: Between the Lafayette Christmas Parade, the PMO Christmas Show and more, it’s busy holiday weekend in Greater Lafayette. Based in Lafayette correspondent Tim Brouk has you covered with five choice picks.
WE WISH YOU A MERRY BiL HOLIDAY/SEASONAL PLAYLIST
Have you contributed your three tracks for the playlist? For the full Based in Lafayette Holiday/Seasonal Playlist, growing every day thanks to BiL readers, check the link at the bottom of today’s contribution. Which comes from …
Kevin O'Shea
Not the football coach, but another Kevin O'Shea.
“Christmas Song,” Phoebe Bridgers – Phoebe Bridgers, the millennial queen of heartbreak, teams up with Jackson Browne to cover McCarthy Trenching's “Christmas Song.” Opening with a soft, jangly piano and the haunting line, “You don’t have to be alone to be lonesome,” Bridgers gradually layers choral harmonies and jingle bells, delivering a gut-wrenching reminder that holiday sadness can hit like a brick through a window.
“River,” Joni Mitchell – A classic breakup ballad turned modern sad Christmas carol. Mitchell reflects on a Christmastime heartbreak, with a piano undertone subtly nodding to “Jingle Bells.” Perfect for belting out during solo car rides when no one’s around to hear.
“This is the New Year,” Death Cab for Cutie – The ultimate elder emo anthem for 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Day from 2003. Opening with a wave of somber power chords, it sets the tone with the line: “So this is the new year, and I don’t feel any different.” The song captures the anxiety of unmet expectations and the weight of resolutions, like the musical equivalent of sighing and asking, “Now what?”
Your turn: What’s on your list?
What three songs are going into your holiday/seasonal playlist this year? If you’re game to share, here’s all we need:
Three songs and the artists.
One or two sentences about why you chose each one – could be a memory or a short history or review about why that track belongs in your mix and why you’d recommend it to others.
A little bit about you to let readers know who’s making the picks.
Send to: davebangert1@gmail.com
BASED IN LAFAYETTE HOLIDAY/SEASONAL PLAYLIST: IN PROGRESS
Listen and bookmark it here.
Thanks again for ongoing support from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette. For show information and tickets, go to longpac.org.
Thanks for support from Purdue Musical Organizations, presenting the 91st Annual Purdue Christmas Show, this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7-8. Get tickets here.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
If you were a scout as a youth or were just interested in Scouting and possibly helping out with the BSA now, come to Elliott Hall on campus tomorrow at 8. Talk to local volunteers and get info on how to help out.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our scouts to grow and learn.