Horror as Indiana boy, 3, and man shot dead inside parked car at shopping center

A man and a 3-year-old boy are dead after a shooting rocked an Indiana shopping center late Monday night.

Gunfire erupted at the shopping center located around the 7400 block of N. Shadeland Avenue in Indianapolis, FOX59 reported, with the man and child found critically injured from gunfire inside a vehicle in the parking lot.

It wasn't immediately clear exactly what happened — whether the shooting was an isolated, targeted incident or random, with the 22-year-old man and 3-year-old boy caught in the crossfire.

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The Marion County Coroner confirmed to FOX59 reported Angela Ganote on Tuesday morning that the man was 22-year-old Jaishawn Darell Johnson, while the boy was 3-year-old Armonie Booker. Both had reportedly been critically injured, then were reported dead shortly thereafter.

WISH-TV reported that medics and members of the Indianapolis Police Department were called to the scene at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Monday night after reports of a shooting at one of the retail businesses at the Shadeland Station Shopping Center.

Officers reportedly arrived and found Johnson barely alive in the vehicle. He died moments later at the scene. Booker was also critically wounded, but he died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

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Witnesses told the local TV station that the shooting resulted from a fight, but the police were reportedly unable to confirm such rumors. according to IMPD Sgt. Wiliam Young.

"We are trying to piece together exactly where they were coming from or where they were going, what business they were here visiting," Young said, according to FOX59. "We haven’t made it that far in the investigation."

He added, "I’m extremely frustrated, I am extremely frustrated. It is the beginning of the school year. We’re looking forward to going back to school. There is no reason I should have to be here talking to you about a child being shot."

The Marion County Coroner didn't confirm whether the two killed were related. An investigation into the incident is still underway, and the police are asking for assistance in identifying suspects. Anyone with information is being asked to contact Det. Michael Wright at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or by email at Michael.Wright@indy.gov, according to WISH-TV.