- I'm the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy.
IMPD is investigating after a 24-year-old man was killed in a shooting at the LongHorn Steakhouse in Castleton. It happened Sunday night, with officers saying what began as a disturbance inside the restaurant turned deadly.
The incident is now raising questions about the normalization of these kinds of public shootings in our area. “When there’s very little social and community accountability, I do think acts of violence become more predictable,' Deeb Kitchen, an associate professor of sociology at Marian University, stated.“This is where the practice of dehumanization and hopelessness really comes into play,' Elizabeth Ziff, an associate professor in the department of sociology at the University of Indianapolis, said.The incident happened around 9 p.m. Sunday when IMPD said they were called to the steakhouse for a reported shooting.Through investigation, they found that a disturbance had taken place in the lobby of the restaurant between 24-year-old Justin Hignite and several other people. That's when they said a suspect pulled a gun and shot Hignite before running away.Hignite was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, but later died.“It’s become more anticipated and more expected,' Kitchen said. 'It’s more understood as being part of life.”Kitchen explained that this kind of situation has become much more common in our society.“I think sometimes, being in public like that might lead to this type of outcome,' he said. 'Particularly when there are social pressures around respect… as well as what's seen as available or normalized ways of resolving conflict.”WRTV went around to several local businesses near the steakhouse on Monday to get their thoughts on safety in the area. After eight stops, not one wanted to speak on-camera. However, off-camera, we heard the same thing over and over: this violence is not unexpected. Some even told us they know this area gets dangerous, and it's simply something they've gotten used to.“It’s a problem when we are desensitized to it, because we do kind of take it as commonplace,' Ziff stated.She told WRTV that this type of normalization can also become a problem.“It is so easy to look at an incident like this and use the narrative of like a bad actor,' Ziff explained. 'This doesn’t negate the truth or validity of a statement like that, but we are in a broader social system that does educate us a certain way, maybe gives us access to things in a certain way, maybe, again, resort to violence versus other ways of resolving things.”So we asked them both what steps need to happen before these kinds of incidents no longer feel like the norm?“These kinds of stories are important, and they need to be talked about and covered,' Kitchen said. 'But the extent of the coverage around them is what leads to that normalization happening.”'It's really important to push back and say, 'Does it have to be what we do?'' Ziff stated. 'Are there other ways that we can talk to people, or socialize people, to think about humanity and others?'Police reported that, during their investigation of the shooting, they located and apprehended three male persons of interest near a Jimmy John’s by the shooting scene.After consultation with the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, the three persons of interest were released.Anyone with information about this incident should call Detective Sara Didandeh at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or email the detective at Sara.Didandeh@indy.gov.You can also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana anonymously at 317-262-TIPS .—Casey Zanowic is the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy. She joined WRTV in July of 2025. Casey has a passion for storytelling and is ready to showcase impactful stories that make a difference in her community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Casey by emailing her at casey.zanowic@wrtv.com.
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