Pike Township leaders plan to address issues with N Zone bar after weekend shootout

INDIANAPOLIS — A shootout at a troubled bar near 86^th Street and Michigan Road sent two people to nearby St. Vincent Hospital early Sunday morning and has now prompted a review by IMPD’s Nuisance and Abatement Unit. 

Police were dispatched to N Zone Bar and Grill shortly before 2 a.m. after a security guard called 911 and reported the shootout between a man at the bar and a person in a car in the parking lot. 

Later that morning, two different people walked into St. Vincent Hospital on the north side of Indianapolis with gunshot wounds. The victims who checked into the hospital Sunday morning are believed to have been involved in the shooting.

“No one is immune, things are going to jump off in different areas,” Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson said. “But I would say (I’m) concern(ed).”

That concern from Johnson stems from the fact that the bar has been the subject of several complaints from people who live in the area, including homeowners associations. Those people have been reporting a host of issues at the establishment. 

“Late-night fights, break-outs,” Johnson said. “To the left of that area, you have apartments that have been there in this community forever, and then you have a housing addition directly across the street.”

A neighboring business told FOX59/CBS4 they were not surprised to hear another incident had occurred given the bar’s past. 

Just recently, video circulated on social media of a large brawl between several women in the parking lot of the bar. Reports made by IMPD show numerous calls to the location in recent years for things like gun crimes and fights. 

In May 2022, a man was shot and critically wounded outside the bar. The establishment was shut down following that incident after officials discovered it did not have the proper permits. 

Johnson said the fire department has been called to the bar at least 20 times since it opened, which she believes is a lot for a business like that. 

“If you have too many complaints, you know what happens with those types of situations where residents will complain,” Johnson said. “Zoning and making reports on that that go downtown, and sometimes, you’re served papers that you may not be a business anymore.”

Johnson said she doesn’t want to see that happen and hopes to intervene so things don’t reach that level with N Zone. She said her next step will be reaching out for a conversation with the bar’s owners to try and give some best practices for them moving forward. 

The facility appeared to be closed Sunday and Monday. 

Police have not publicly announced if they identified or detained any suspects or persons of interest during their investigation of Sunday morning’s shooting.

IMPD said its nuisance and abatement team is aware of the location and working to determine if any enforcement action should be taken.