INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The suspected shooter in a west side police shooting who shot an Indianapolis police officer at least three times before being shot himself has been identified as 19-year-old Tyson Reach.

Reach, who is still in critical condition at a hospital, is preliminarily charged with attempted murder, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Friday. He has been in custody at the hospital since Tuesday.

The shooting happened after a carjacking just after 2 p.m. Tuesday near 16th and Harding streets, on the west side of Indianapolis. The officer recognized the stolen vehicle and followed it into an apartment building off of 16th Street and Lafayette Road.

Four male suspects were inside the vehicle when they were stopped by police. One person fled police while the officer tried to arrest the driver. They still have not been found.

While trying to arrest the driver, 19-year-old Mahki Starks, two others exited the vehicle. One passenger, Reach, walked to the front of the vehicle and opened fire.

The officer was shot then returned fire, hitting Reach at least once. Both men were taken to a hospital for treatment. The officer hurt, who has not been identified, was released on Wednesday.

IMPD identified the other passenger Wednesday as 19-year-old Malique Starks.

Prosecutors charged Malique Starks with resisting law enforcement. Mahki Starks was preliminarily charged with armed robbery for the carjacking and for resisting law enforcement, but formal charges have not been filed as of Friday.

AVON, Ind. (WISH) — Avon Community Schools began a new school year on Wednesday and welcomed students to new start times and completed construction.

Superintendent Dr. Scott Wyndham joined WISH-TV live for Daybreak’s Morning Bell on Friday.

He says Avon completed a major renovation and reconfiguration of its schools after five years of planning and three years of construction, marking the start of a new academic year with significant changes.

“Avon High School has completed a significant renovation. That building’s 25 years old, so it needed to be expanded to accommodate our current enrollment and plans for the future to serve up to 4,000 students. We built a new middle school that we opened just three days ago and reconfigured our intermediate schools to become elementary. So we really transitioned and reconfigured our entire school district, K-8, and touched just about every school to make sure that we had top-notch learning environments for all of our kids,” Wyndham said.

He added that in the first week, students are getting into the swing of the school year and are enjoying the changes.

“It’s awesome to see kids walking through those halls, loving the spaces that they’re in,” Wyndham said.

Other transformations in the district since a 2018 referendum included smaller class sizes, competitive teacher pay, and enhanced student opportunities. This fall, the referendum will be up for renewal.

“So that’s what we’ll be doing in November is going back to our community and asking them to support those same three priorities but we’ve also been able to reduce our tax rate that we’re asking our community over the last seven years. So, the next three months will be busy of trying to educate our community about really that referendum has been our vital lifeline to provide the supports and the class sizes and meet the expectations of our students, our parents, and our community. And we want to continue that,” Wyndham explained.

Redistricting efforts mean changes to school start times this year. Wyndham said this is partially due to bus driver availability, with some schools experiencing significant schedule adjustments.

With the completion of these projects, Avon Schools is poised for a successful school year, continuing to focus on providing quality education and support for its students.

“Just seeing our kids in these spaces and being able to see them succeed over the course of the year, that’s what gets me excited every day,” Wydham said.

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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For most teachers, the first week of school means lesson plans and classroom prep. For Brayden Lee, it also means getting ready to step into the wrestling ring.

Lee, a teacher at Crawfordsville High School, says his two worlds collided sooner than he expected.

“When I first became a teacher, my goal was to really keep that on the down low,” Lee said. “I wanted to try to keep my wrestling life separate from my teaching life. But high school kids are very active on social media. So as soon as they find out your real name, they’re just like, ‘Facebook, Google, everything.’”

Lee says it only took a couple of weeks for word to spread.

“Within a week or two of my first year of teaching, it was out that I was a professional wrestler,” he said. “So it didn’t last very long.”

Lee says his students have been mostly supportive, even if they try to use it to their advantage.

“They kind of just use it to get me off topic a little bit and it does work from time to time,” Lee said. “But they have been pretty supportive, I would say, for the most part. And I’m very lucky that they don’t make it as big of a deal as they potentially could.”

Even his colleagues were caught off guard.

“They’re just kind of like, ‘Whoa, that’s a really weird thing that you do,’” Lee said. “The main person who was kind of maybe disgruntled that I was a professional wrestler was actually my principal, but that’s just because he was concerned I was going to get injured.”

Lee reassured his boss, but admits it didn’t go as planned.

“I tried to reassure him that, hey, like I’ve only had like a few concussions I’m going to be okay,” Lee said. “And then the third week of my first year, I broke my foot.”

Now, with a new school year starting, Lee is focused on both the classroom and his next big match.

“Wrestling is kind of just like a day-to-day thing for me,” he said. “I have to be really focused on what’s going on in my classroom during the week. I try to make sure that I’m giving my full effort to both things. And for me, the best way has just been to take it day by day and kind of focus on being in the moment and not thinking too far ahead.”

That includes his upcoming showdown with Jack Vaughn.

“Jack Vaughn is a very talented wrestler,” Lee said. “He’s calling himself the last real professional wrestler. But he’s kind of coming into my home promotion. This is a promotion that I literally started with my first year of wrestling. I’ve been a champion there, so to me this is kind of a proving grounds match.”

Lee says he has extra motivation for Saturday night.

“He told me that his 40th birthday is actually on Saturday,” Lee said. “The good news for him, or the bad news for him, is he’s going to start his 40s out with a loss.”

Emerge Wrestling is set for Saturday at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds, 750 West 200 South, Columbus. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the opening bell at 7. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

To purchase tickets, click here.

(CNN) — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced on Friday that it will wind down its operations due to the successful Republican effort to defund local PBS and NPR stations across the country.

The announcement came just over a week after President Donald Trump signed into law a rescissions bill clawing back congressionally approved federal funds for public media and foreign aid. Of the $9 billion in canceled funds, $1.1 billion was earmarked for the CPB.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

Officials at the organization, which was founded more than 60 years ago, said they are focused on helping local stations figure out how to cope with sudden budget shortfalls. Harrison has warned that some stations, particularly in rural areas, will have to shut down without federal support.

Most larger stations have numerous other funding sources, including viewer and listener donations, to soften the blow dealt by Congress. Still, public media executives have warned that the interconnected system will be weakened in various ways without federal funding as a foundation.

Most of the corporation’s roughly 100 staff positions will be eliminated when the money runs out on September 30. The CPB will maintain a small transition team through January to guarantee “a responsible and orderly closeout of operations,” it said in a statement.

On Friday, the CPB also filed a voluntary dismissal of its lawsuit against President Trump for his attempts to remove three of five board members from the organization.

The Trump administration’s cuts to the CPB were the culmination of the president’s months-long effort to defund public broadcasters, which the president has alleged are “biased” against conservatives.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Gov. Mike Braun (R) has announced that several Indiana state agencies will work with federal immigration officials to deport people who are in the country illegally.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Correction, and Indiana National Guard have signed agreements to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a Jan. 28 executive order, Braun reiterated the state’s partnership with federal immigration enforcement, saying, “Indiana is not a safe haven for illegal immigration. Indiana will fully partner with federal immigration authorities as they enforce the most fundamental laws of our country.’

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE allowing designated officers to perform immigration enforcement functions such as arrests and issuing detainers.

The Indiana State Police have entered into a similar agreement to collaborate with federal immigration authorities.

The Indiana Department of Correction has signed a Warrant Service Officer memorandum of agreement, enabling personnel to help with immigration enforcement duties in jails and correctional facilities. IDOC will also provide up to 1,000 beds at Miami Correctional Facility for detainees.

Braun also mentioned the anticipated partnership between the Indiana National Guard and federal immigration authorities, with Camp Atterbury available for temporary use to house people subject to deportation.

Braun emphasized that the mission at Camp Atterbury will not interfere in the Indiana National Guard’s ability to respond or their training readiness.

This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An annual event in Indianapolis is taking a sharp turn away from its old name, but the goal is to keep its longtime mission directly on track.

For eight years, Tha Black Owned Business Block Party brought dozens of local entrepreneurs together in one spot – to sell their wares, share their stories, and potentially make new customers and friends.
Organizers say all of that -and more- will now happen under a new brand: the EightDown Festival.

“150 Black-owned businesses will be taking over every square inch of Flanner House,” longtime organizer Dominic Dorsey shared during a visit with WISH-TV’s Daybreak. “But we’re also going to be offering trophies. We’re going to be awarding some champions within the community. We’re going to be highlighting more of those cultural aspects.”

Asked for an explanation for the name change, Dorsey said the local calendar is increasingly crowded with block parties from several different organizations. That led to the re-branding to EightDown.

“So ‘Eight’, obviously, for the month of August. ‘Down’ being a euphemism for unity,” he explains. “So this is an opportunity for us to celebrate unity and excellence during the month of August. Still highlighting those Black-owned businesses, but also all of the things that we do exceptionally well in art, culture, dance, music across the board.”

Dorsey says it will be just like the old Block Party, but “turned up to 11!”

He also points out that while minority entrepreneurs are at the heart of the festival, he hopes people of all cultures will feel welcome to attend.

“This is for anybody who appreciates the culture,” he says. “This is a place for you to come and feel your most unapologetically authentic self. That’s what we want to celebrate. That’s what we want to uplift. And we want everybody to come out and experience that.

The party is Saturday, August 2nd from 1-7pm at Flanner House, 2424 Dr. MLK Jr. Street.
There is no charge to attend, and Dorsey hopes the free entry will encourage everyone to bring a little spending money.

“The idea is that you spend as little as you can to get there, so you can spend as much as you can with these black owned businesses.”

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Here’s a look at Friday’s business headlines with Jane King, who has the latest on Open AI, the July jobs report, and a White House demand for drug companies to cut prices.

Trump wants drug companies to cut prices

President Trump is asking 17 drugmakers, including Pfizer, Merck, and Lilly, to cut U.S. drug prices within 60 days.

He has several proposals to do this, and one of them involves the drugmakers selling medicine directly to consumers or businesses.

Shoppers still flocking to amazon

Amazon says shoppers are still buying, even with uncertainty of tariffs.

However, the company also spooked investors who are eager to see Amazon’s hefty investments in artificial intelligence pay off.

The company has committed to spend up to $100 billion this year on ai as it races to build out infrastructure and software.

Amazon employs more than 26,000 full and part-time employees across 37 facilities in Indiana.

Conversations with ChatGPT made public

Open AI’s ChatGPT just removed a feature that would make your public conversations – searchable on google and other search engines.

TechCrunch says you used to be able to filter search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines to include URLs from the domain chatgpt.com/share, and on it, you could find strangers conversations with ChatGPT.

Hours after the tech blog reported on it, Open AI took the feature down, saying it was a “short-lived experiment” and that it created too many opportunities for people to accidentally share things they didn’t intend to.

July jobs reports expected this morning

The July jobs report is out Friday and analysts are expecting 115,000 jobs created, which would be lower than June’s creation of 147,000.

If payrolls come in lower than expected, that data could amp up the Federal Reserve to possibly cut rates in September.

Cinemark looks to shine up the silver screen

ScreenX is a premium film format that utilizes additional displays on the right and left walls of the auditorium, called wings, to create a 270-degree panoramic field of view.

Cinemark said said six of those new screens will be open in time for the openings of “Wicked: For Good” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

The family of Virginia Giuffre, who was among Jeffrey Epstein’s most well-known sex trafficking accusers, said that it was shocking to hear President Donald Trump say the disgraced financier “stole” Giuffre from him and urged that Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, remain in prison.

Giuffre, who had accused Britain’s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. She died by suicide this year.

Her family’s statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, and the Republican president, who was his one-time friend. Trump denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he cut off their relationship years ago, but he still faces questions about the case.

Trump, responding to a reporter’s question on Tuesday, said that he got upset with Epstein over his poaching of workers and that Epstein had stolen Giuffre from his Palm Beach, Florida, club.

“It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been ‘stolen’ from Mar-a-Lago,” the family’s statement said.

“We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this,” it continued.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the president was responding to a reporter’s question and didn’t bring up Giuffre himself.

“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,” she said.

The family’s statement comes shortly after the Justice Department interviewed Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges and is serving a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee, Florida. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in a Florida courthouse, though details about what she said haven’t become public.

Maxwell’s lawyers have said she testified truthfully and answered questions “about 100 different people.” They have said she’s willing to answer more questions from Congress if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony and if lawmakers agree to satisfy other conditions.

A message seeking comment about the Giuffre family’s statement was sent to Maxwell’s attorney on Thursday.

In a CNN interview Thursday evening, Giuffre’s family also spoke out.

“She wasn’t stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump’s property … stolen seems very impersonal. It feels very much like an object, and the survivors are not objects, women are not objects,” said Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother. “She was preyed upon, and it certainly makes you kind of ask the question, you know, how much he knew during that time?”

A Trump administration official said the president is not currently considering clemency action for Maxwell.

Giuffre said she was approached by Maxwell in 2000 and eventually was hired by her as a masseuse for Epstein. But the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, she said, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.

Giuffre said she was flown around the world for appointments with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18 years old.

The men, including Andrew, denied it and assailed Giuffre’s credibility. She acknowledged changing some key details of her account.

The prince settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a “substantial donation” to her survivors’ organization.

The American-born Giuffre lived in Australia for years and became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein’s prolonged downfall.

Her family’s statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Fever have signed Australian forward Chloe Bibby to a rest of season contract, the team announced Friday.

Bibby has played in two games for the Fever since joining on a seven-day contract on July 25.

In two games with Indiana, Bibby has averaged 9.0 points per game, shooting 44.4% from the field and 50% from the arc.

On Wednesday, Bibby scored 10 points in 13 minutes — including two three-pointers — to help Indiana earn a 107-101 win over the Phoenix Mercury.

She made her Fever debut last Sunday, logging 8 points in 11 minutes played as part of an 83-78 road win over the Chicago Sky.

Bibby started the season with the Golden State Valkyries, averaging 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game before being waived June 30.

The Australian forward will be an important part of Indiana’s offense as two-time WNBA All-Star Caitlin Clark continues to recover from a groin injury.

Clark has been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Dallas Wings. It will be her sixth game missed since injuring her right groin in the final seconds of Indiana’s 85-77 win over the Connecticut Sun on July 15.

The team stated there is no timetable for Clark’s return.

The Fever begin a four-game road stint in Dallas on Friday, before heading west to face the Seattle Storm on Aug. 3.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis firefighters responded Friday morning to a fire at an old extended-stay hotel near the Fashion Mall at Keystone.

Indianapolis Fire Department responded around 9:15 a.m. to the former TownePlace Suites Indianapolis Keystone, 8468 Union Chapel Rd. That’s just off of 86th Street, about a half-mile south of the Fashion Mall.

The fire began while crews were renovating the building, firefighters at the scene told News 8.

IFD did not say how the fire started or if there were any injuries.

This story is still developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.