On the morning of July 30, 2023, 30-year-old Joseph E. Bonner III was fatally shot during a massive block party in Muncie, Indiana that drew between 500 and 1,000 people. Gunfire at the event left Bonner dead and nearly twenty others wounded; first responders arrived to a chaotic scene, applied tourniquets and first aid, and transported victims to hospitals, in some cases using police vehicles.

Investigators later arrested two men in connection with the violence. Thirty-six-year-old John L. Vance Jr. was taken into custody on August 1, 2023, facing preliminary counts including aggravated battery, criminal recklessness, and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. A second arrest that month named 29-year-old Justin E. Bonner, the victim’s brother, who was preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. An affidavit says Justin Bonner told police he saw Vance shoot Joseph and fired at Vance afterward, asserting self-defense. The investigation into Joseph Bonner’s death was described as ongoing.

If anyone at the block party or nearby that night has information about what happened, please come forward.