Court docs: Convention Center homicide caused by wire, victim begged for life

INDIANAPOLIS — A man is in jail accused of murder following a homicide investigation that took place at the Indiana Convention Center Wednesday night.

Court documents reveal the victim begged for his life while being stabbed and strangled with a wire during the seemingly unprovoked attack.

Just before 6:30 Wednesday night, witnesses at the Indiana Convention Center called police and reported an employee was being brutally assaulted.

When officers arrived they found the victim lying on the second floor hallway in a pool of blood with a box cutting knife and wire cord nearby. That man died after being rushed to the hospital.

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. It’s unfortunate, but we’re committed to the safety of safety of the citizens of Indianapolis,” said IMPD Sgt. William Young.

Police claim witnesses saw 33-year-old Brian Fulton wrap some sort of wire or phone cord around the victim’s neck several times and strangled him until he stopped moving.

According to court records, the victim Al Gosnell, begged for his life.

Court documents reveal that a witness came out of their office on the second floor of the convention center when they heard someone say, “No, no, please stop, why are you doing this?”

According to the witness, they then saw Fulton hold the victim with one hand, beating his face and body. The witness then ran back into their office, called IMPD and returned outside.

That’s when Fulton reportedly grabbed some sort of wire—which IMPD said was likely a phone charger cable—and strangled the victim until he stopped moving. A pool of blood was also reportedly under the victim and a box cutter was found at the scene.

According to the documents, Fulton allegedly told the witness, “Yeah, I killed him. I didn’t kill no one else, just him. He deserved it, he had a knife in his hand.”

But according to the witness, the victim didn’t have any weapon and it was the suspect who was the aggressor. The victim had reportedly been trying to get away from the attacker.

Employees at the convention center then quickly followed the suspect as he walked out door 9 and flagged down police who took Fulton into custody near the Greyhound bus station.

Police praised that assistance.

“They were able to get that information we needed and that individual was taken into custody within minutes,” said Young.

Court documents reveal that the victim was reportedly working at the convention center prior to being attacked by Fulton. Fellow employees said the victim was a “laid-back kind of person” who “never had any issues” and “was not known to be violent.”

The killing marks the 3rd homicide in downtown this year,  which continues to trend down compared to recent year end totals which peaked in 2020 and 2021.

“We’ve hosted tons of events downtown and we want people to know you’re safe,” said Young. “Downtown accounts for about 5 percent of crime for the entire city. Violent crime downtown is down about 12 percent.”

Police reports show the accused killer had struggled with mental health issues in recent months.

Earlier this year Fulton was rescued from the White River during an apparent suicide attempt. In July he was arrested and charged with public nudity after being found naked at a school. That criminal case was set for bench trial next month.

Following the murder Wednesday night, Fulton told police he was with the military and the CIA and had neutralized an international terrorist nuclear threat.

The true motive for the attack remains unclear.

The suspect is being held without bond on a preliminary charge of murder. Ultimately it will be up to the prosecutor’s office to file formal charges in the case

The Indiana Convention Center sent the following written statement:

Al Gosnell, a beloved employee of the Capital Improvement Board, lost his life last night in a senseless act of violence. Al worked with us for more than ten years and was a great friend to his colleagues. Our CIB family mourns his loss and we hold his family in our hearts.

We are grateful to our downtown district IMPD officers for quickly apprehending the suspect. IMPD has assured us that there is no further threat inside the building. We are working in close coordination with IMPD to support their investigation.

Because the incident is still under investigation, we are not able to provide additional information at this time.

The Indiana Convention Center is a public building designed to host public and private events. The following policies are in place to secure the building.

We have three layers of security.

First, we have in-house security that monitors and protects the building 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Second, we have additional guards at entry points and roaming the building.

Third, this year we added armed, off-duty IMPD officers patrolling the convention center, skywalks and connected properties.

In addition:

•         We have 24-hour video surveillance throughout the interior and exterior of the building and we secure all doors as our event schedule allows.

•         All employee offices are located in secure spaces and inaccessible to the public.

•         All of our clients are required to have added levels of security depending on the nature and size of their events.

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