Print
Close
Indiana man charged with murder in Dutch soldier's shooting death, allegedly told friend he 'just spazzed'
By Paul Best
Published September 01, 2022
A 22-year-old Indiana man accused of opening fire on a group of Dutch soldiers, killing one and wounding two others, was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder on Thursday, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced.
Shamar Duncan was arrested on Tuesday after the shooting in the early hours of Saturday morning outside a hotel in downtown Indianapolis.
Simmie Poetsema, a 26-year-old member of the Dutch Commando Corps, was pronounced dead on Monday. Two other Dutch soldiers were also struck by gunfire and suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. They were in the United States for military training at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, a military base about 70 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
Shamar Duncan, 22, was charged Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, with murder in the fatal shooting of a Dutch soldier and the wounding of two others in downtown Indianapolis. (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department via AP)
Duncan and two other men got into an altercation with the Dutch soldiers on the street as they returned from a club around 3:30 a.m.
After that initial scuffle, Duncan fired shots from a pickup truck, later telling a friend that he "just spazzed," according to an affidavit obtained by the Indianapolis Star.
A witness told investigators that Duncan's group was "looking for trouble" the morning of the incident and had gotten into a scuffle with a different group before the shooting, the affidavit said.
"What they were doing outside, I'm not altogether sure, but I'm told the alleged perpetrators did a drive-by shooting and ultimately three were victimized by that shooting," Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said this week.
Three members of the Dutch Commando Corps, who were training at a center, were shot outside of the hotel in downtown Indianapolis early Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
An attorney for Duncan could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Mears, the prosecutor, said that the two other men who were with Duncan could still face criminal charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-man-charged-murder-dutch-soldiers-shooting-death-allegedly-told-friend-just-spazzed