On August 19, 2024, emergency responders in Indianapolis were called to a shooting on the near west side shortly before 2:00 p.m. Officers found 21-year-old Nathaniel Lee Thomas in the 3600 block of West Michigan Street near Tibbs Avenue suffering apparent gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Thomas lived in Indianapolis and worked as a mechanic and salesman; family and friends remembered him for the pride he took in his vehicle.

The shooting was linked by investigators to a larger, chaotic series of events that afternoon. Around the same time a 40-year-old man, Brandon Lerez Groves, was found shot to death in the 4100 block of West Vermont Street, and a third man in the area was critically wounded and taken to hospital. Police described the incidents as a triple shooting spanning multiple locations; as of late 2024 no arrests had been announced and detectives were still seeking motive and suspects.

Thomas is survived by his parents, John and Domonique Thomas, seven brothers and numerous friends; funeral services were held later in August at Family Funeral Care with burial at Floral Park Cemetery. If anyone saw activity in the West Michigan or West Vermont Street areas around 2:00 p.m. on August 19, please share what was observed with investigators.