INDIANAPOLIS — Two young men are in the Marion County jail after police say they walked into the Castleton Square Mall with guns and ski masks Tuesday evening. Police said quick action by a citizen and mall security may have prevented whatever the young men had planned.
Police got the call around 7:45 p.m. Dec. 26 that three men with guns and ski masks were near an entrance of the Von Maur store at the Simon-owned Castleton Square Mall. Off-duty police officers working as mall security identified the suspects in the mall. Police said the three men took off.
Octavious Reid, 19, from Madison County, and Zachery Hunter, 18, from Indianapolis, were captured, one in the parking lot and the other trying to hide in the restroom of the Buca di Beppo restaurant in the mall parking lot.
"We don't know what they were there for,” IMPD Lt. Shane Foley said. “I can say we're pretty confident that the cooperation between the community member, officers and Simon security likely prevented something from happening, whether it was something at the mall or something somewhere else. Individuals with ski masks and guns with machine gun conversion devices are a bad combination."
The police were looking for three suspects, with the third getting away. Police have not given an identity or description of the third suspect.
Police recovered two Glock handguns equipped with machine gun conversion devices, as well as large capacity magazines and ammunition.
"Both guns that were recovered were stolen,” Foley said. “One was stolen from a house, and one was stolen just days before in a robbery. Certainly, our detectives are going to work to identify if these individuals were involved in that robbery. It's possible that they were. It's also possible that the individuals who committed the robbery then transferred these guns or sold these guns to somebody else."
Hunter is charged with possessing a machine gun, obstruction of justice, resisting law enforcement and possession of marijuana.
Reid is charged with possessing a machine gun, escape, obstruction of justice and resisting law enforcement.
“This case serves as another example of why we advocated for Glock switch legislation — to provide prosecutors and law enforcement with the tools to hold those accountable who are willing to possess machine guns,” Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. “While we continue to see the troubling trend of young people with access to these incredibly dangerous devices, our office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting these cases.”
In 2023, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed 111 cases for possession of a machine gun.