2 killed in shooting on Indy's east side

Two men were killed in a shooting early Friday on Indianapolis' east side, and grieving relatives stood vigil nearby.

Police found the bodies of the men, later identified as 26-year-old Kendall Howell and 48-year-old Kevin Sargent, shortly after 6 a.m. in the 900 block of North Oxford Street, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Frank Wooten said.

One man was found in the street, the second inside a nearby car that was stopped in the middle of the street. Both men appeared to have gunshot wounds, Wooten said.

Medics found a handgun under the man in the street, but Wooten said there were no shell casings at the scene.

Police think Howell and Sargent might have been shot about three blocks north, Wooten said. Police received a report of shots fired about 2:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of North Oxford Street and found shell casings, Wooten said.

Police cordoned off most of the block with crime scene tape as detectives and crime scene investigators spent hours collecting evidence.

A woman rushed under the tape around 7:15 a.m. and made it a few steps before an officer turned her back.

She stood in a parking lot not far from the bodies and told the officer one of the victims was her son.

He's almost 26, she said. The woman dropped to the pavement near a squad car and cried.

The Rev. James Black of Jerusalem Temple wrapped his arms around the mother. He comforted her and other family and friends most of Friday morning.

Later, Black told IndyStar that just two weeks ago he was called to a shooting scene and arrived to discover the victim was his cousin, Joni Taylor.

"She was shot down, shot six times," Black said.

No one has been arrested in Taylor's death.

Black said there isn't much he can say to comfort a family in these early hours when the pain is new and raw.

"I pray with them," he said. "Pray. Believe. Have faith."

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter:@vicryc.