On the evening of December 20, 2025, a ShotSpotter alert brought officers to the 500 block of West Indiana Avenue in South Bend. Around 9:10 p.m., an officer on an unrelated call found a male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound near Indiana Avenue and Taylor Street; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was identified as 26-year-old Raejaun L. Jones, a South Bend native who split time between Indiana and Lincolnton, Georgia and was known to family as Rae. He had been studying nursing at Ivy Tech Community College and is survived by parents, siblings and extended family. The South Bend Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit is handling the investigation and an autopsy was scheduled to confirm the specific cause of death.

No arrests or named suspects had been reported in the days after the shooting. Anyone with information or neighborhood surveillance footage is asked to contact Michiana Crime Stoppers.