In October 2021 a missing-person report led to a grim discovery on Indianapolis’s south side. Eighteen-year-old Joseph Thomas was reported missing on October 10, 2021; two days later his body was found in a grassy area in the 4400 block of South Meridian Street. He was found with two other young men, 22-year-old Michael James and 17-year-old Abdulla Mubarak. All three had been shot to death in what Indianapolis Metropolitan Police described as a triple homicide.

Investigators quickly identified a suspect who had been 16 at the time of the killings. Authorities say the suspect communicated with the victims beforehand and lured them to the secluded location under the pretense of demonstrating a Glock switch, a device purported to convert a semi-automatic firearm to fully automatic fire. Police allege the suspect turned the weapon on the three victims during that encounter.

If anyone has information about Joseph Thomas, his movements in early October 2021, or contact with the other victims, please share what you know with investigators.