INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The ACLU of Indiana on Monday said the fact that not every ICE arrest in Indiana involves a convicted criminal is a troubling sign.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and reviewed by News 8 showed ICE agents carried out at least 3,653 arrests in Indiana between Sept. 1, 2023, and June 26, 2025. Of those, 1,549 involved people who had already had a criminal conviction, or 42% of arrests. The data did not specify what type of crime detainees had been convicted of. Another 1,497 people were listed as having criminal charges pending, again without specifying what kind. Finally, 604 were listed as “other immigration violator.” According to ICE, that category includes people with no convictions or pending charges but who have broken U.S. immigration laws, such as by overstaying their visa or by reentering after deportation. The category also includes people who are wanted for crimes in other countries.

A significant number of those arrests came at the Marion County jail. ICE data showed 960 arrests at the facility during the period, slightly more than 1 out of every 4 in the state. They included 299 during the first six months of 2025, compared to 250 during the same period last year.

Chris Daley, executive director of ACLU of Indiana, said, despite the increase, he doesn’t necessarily think the Marion County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating any more closely with ICE than it used to. The sheriff’s office is not participating in the 287(g) immigration enforcement program, for example.

Daley said he’s more concerned by the number of people who are not marked as explicitly facing pending charges or convictions, or even the number who have been charged but not convicted. Twenty-seven of those 960 arrests involved people in the “other immigration violator” category and 560 involved people with pending criminal charges but not convictions.

“I don’t think there has ever been doubt that there are some folks in our country who have committed violent crimes and been convicted of violent crimes,” he said, “but we should not conflate people who have been convicted of crimes with people that have been charged with crimes.”

Daley said people have a right to a fair trial regardless of their immigration status and deporting people while they are still going through the criminal justice system violates the principle of innocent until proven guilty. He said immigration advocates have long argued the Trump administration would not be able to meet its ambitious deportation goals simply by concentrating on people convicted of violent crimes.

Gov. Mike Braun told reporters last week he had some reservations about arrests of people without prior convictions, though he overall supports tougher enforcement.

“If that data is correct, I’d say that should raise eyebrows because I’ve been clearly on record, the worst first, and there are many of them out there,” the Republican governor said. “And if you’re involving others, you’re not probably doing a good enough job in terms of finding out who you’re talking to.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office turned down a request for an interview and referred all questions concerning arrests and categorizations thereof to ICE, which said it could not comment on the Deportation Data Project’s data because it did not come directly from them.

• More coverage of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on WISHTV.com

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The five people injured during the mass shooting Sunday afternoon in a housing subdivision on the city’s northeast side were males from 10 to 19 years old, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

The mass shooting was the second this month in Indianapolis.

People who live in the area tell told I-Team 8 on Monday that the shooting was not normal for their neighborhood. Leftover crime scene tape was all that’s left from the crime scene.

Several people who live in this area did not want to speak with I-Team 8 on camera said they heard a lot of gunfire and a car speeding off. When they came outside they found a teenager who had been shot.

IMPD told I-Team 8 the other four people shot arrived at the hospital in their own car.

One person who lives in the area who declined to go on camera told I-Team 8 their home security cameras captured what happened. They would not give us the video because they had already turned it over to IMPD.

Larry Fountain has lived in the area 20 years and has never seen something like this happen. “This neighborhood is very peaceful and quiet because all the neighbors with neighborhood watch. They watch out for each other. You don’t normally have a lot of shootings in this neighborhood, as opposed to other neighborhoods, in my opinion.”

For Fountain, the ages of the people involved was the most shocking part: “Ten is really young. Nineteen is understandable, but it’s just disturbing.”

The shooting did not change his opinion about the neighborhood, “I feel relatively safe because anything can happen anywhere, so it don’t really matter.”

IMPD as of Monday afternoon was continuing to to find out exactly what went down.

IMPD has said it believes the five people who were shot were the only people involved.

The other mass shooting this month in Indianapolis happened in the early morning hours of July 5 in downtown Indianapolis near the Artsgarden. In that shooting, two boys ages 15 and 16 died and five people — ages 16, 17, 19 and 21 — were injured. The Gun Violence Archive says four suspects were arrested.

The July 5 shooting caused the Indianapolis City-County Council to propose changing its youth curfew restrictions, and councilors are set to vote on those changes as early as Aug. 11. Meanwhile, a state lawmaker from Indianapolis has proposed that the state government take over the Mile Square in downtown Indianapolis that includes the Artsgarden and Monument Circle.

News 8’s Gregg Montgomery contributed to this report.

ARLINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — The Rush County Sheriff’s Office says that a mother, who is already sitting in jail, is responsible for setting a fire that killed her son and put her three other children in danger.

In a press release Monday afternoon, the Rush County Sheriff’s Office says they arrested Kirstin Bowers, 31, for three felonies of neglect of a dependent, one resulting in death.

Bowers is already in the Shelby County Jail for three unrelated charges of invasion of privacy.

June 5, firefighters rushed to a house fire in the 2000 block of North County Road 700 West. The house was already fully engulfed in the flames by the time first responders arrived.

A 7-year-old boy, David Bowers Jr., could not be saved by firefighters and died in the fire.

During the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office says there were “numerous suspicious circumstances observed.”

At the time of the fire, Bowers told police she fell asleep in bed with a lit cigarette, “awakening to the bed being on fire.” Bowers said she got three of her children out one-by-one, but the intense fire and smoke stopped her from rescuing Bowers Jr.

Surveillance footage and witness statements revealed to investigators that Bowers left the residence “and walked several blocks from the residence during the suspected time of the fire,” the Sheriff’s Office says. “This left four small children inside the residence.”

Three of the children escaped on their own, but Bowers Jr. was unable to get out.

“This is a tragic event for our community, and especially for the town of Arlington, which has faced several heartbreaking incidents in recent years. Our agency would be remiss not to recognize the heroic efforts of the fire personnel from multiple departments–many of whom are volunteers. Their bravery and selflessness on that day deserve our deepest gratitude and highest commendation,” Detective Randy Meek with the Rush County Sheriff’s Office said.

Bowers Jr. is the first juvenile to die in a fire this year in Indiana.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) –Microplastics are everywhere, in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and even the linens we use to sleep. Researchers are raising concerns about the effects of these plastics once they enter our bodies, not to mention the effects on marine life and the environment. Here to tell us more is WISH-TV medical expert Dr. Janel Gordon. 

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are tiny particles, less than 5 millimeters, a byproduct of the degradation of larger plastic and also intentionally added to products. Weather patterns are leading to the appearance of these particles on land, in the water, air and even our bodies. 

Where have researchers found these particles in our body?

These particles have been detected in:

• Blood

• Brain

• Liver

• Kidneys 

• Placenta

• Meconium, the first stool of an infant following birth 

• Semen

Likely, these particles gain entrance via oral consumption and our gastrointestinal tract as well as respiration and our lungs. Researchers are now even looking into nanoparticles, which are less than 1 micrometer and can enter the cells of our bodies. 

How can we protect ourselves?

It’s important to understand that more research is needed. The plastic particles are not the only issue, chemicals in and on the particles such as BPA and phthalates, have also been shown to disrupt our hormones and reproductive system. 

• Reduce your use of plastic, even prior to recycling. Try to not get plastic items in the first place. 

• Opt for body and household products with less packaging and alternative materials. 

• Aim to buy fresh produce and use reusable bags instead of the plastic ones at the store. 

• Minimize bottled water use, the biggest culprit. 

• If you purchase frozen meals and steam bags, cook and heat the items in glass containers. Heating in the plastic may release millions of microplastic particles and billions of nanoparticles in minutes. 

LEBANON, Ind. (WISH) — An SUV on Monday afternoon crashed into a coffee shop in Lebanon, police said in a news release.

One person inside the coffee shopreceived injuries not believed to be life-threatening, but was taken to a hospital.

Medics and the city’s police and fire departments were called just after 2:10 p.m. Monday to Starbucks, 1377 S. Lebanon St., which is also State Road 39. That’s in an area with businesses just north of the I-65 interchange for the highway.

Sgt. Tre Comage, public information officer for the Lebanon Police Department, said in the release that the driver of the vehicle was not injured and showed no signs of impairment.

The driver reported a mechanical issue with the SUV, which caused it to accelerate unintentionally into the store. Comage said the shop received no major structural damage aside from broken windows.

The incident remained under investigation.

The release did not provide the identities, ages or genders of the person hurt or the driver.

It was not immediately known if the store had reopened after the crash.

The Starbucks is the same one that a tornado damaged in November 2013.

AMES, IOWA (WISH) — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton announced on Instagram that he got engaged to his girlfriend, Jade Jones.

He proposed at Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University, where he played college basketball.

“The place where our story started, and where our next chapter begins,” Haliburton wrote on his Instagram post.

Haliburton and Jones met at Iowa State, where he played basketball and she was a cheerleader.

Haliburton helped lead the Pacers to the NBA Finals in 2025, the franchise’s first appearance in the Finals since 2000.

He tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the series. Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard confirmed that Haliburton will not be playing in the 2025-26 season.

While he has been recovering from the injury, Haliburton has still been present. He went to Pacers Summer League practices, supporting the younger players in the organization.

He has also been present at other sporting events in Indianapolis. Haliburton went to the WNBA All-Star Game and has been to Indiana Fever games as well.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A pilot was arrested aboard a Delta Air Lines flight and federal agents took him into custody from the cockpit after the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport.

The pilot, whose identity wasn’t immediately released, was arrested on charges relating to child sexual abuse material, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Monday.

Passengers aboard the flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco on Saturday posted video online showing federal agents walking through the aisle of the plane.

A message left with Delta Air Lines on Monday was not immediately returned and authorities provided no other details about the arrest.

A Delta spokesperson on Sunday deferred comment to law enforcement.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The state of Indiana will receive an estimated $16.5 million as part of a $720 million national opioid settlement, Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Monday.

The settlement involved eight drugmakers that manufactured opioid pills. The defendants are Alvogen; Amneal; Apotex; Hikma; Indivior; Mylan (now part of Viatris); Sun; and Zydus.

“Thousands of Hoosiers have lost their lives as a result of the opioid crisis,” Rokita said in a release Monday. “We can never undo that tragic loss of life, but we can hold accountable those responsible for contributing to the situations culminating in these deaths. That’s what these settlements are all about, and I’m proud of the work of our team.”

All eight drug makers are banned from promoting opioids or opioid products. They cannot manufacture, promote or distribute any product containing over 40 mg of oxycodone per pill and are not allowed to offer discounts, coupons, or rebates for opioid products.

Some of the companies will make payments to states annually, while others will pay their obligation in a single year, Rokita says.

This settlement brings Indiana to approximately $1.1 billion the total value of opioid settlements achieved since Rokita took office in January of 2021.

TIPTON, Ind. (WISH) — The City of Tipton has launched a $1 million campaign to support the construction of the Tipton Baseball Complex — a new multi-field facility aimed at revitalizing community engagement with baseball.

The campaign follows the City of Tipton’s $2 million commitment through a bond to ensure the project’s development. The additional funds go to enhancing the complex’s amenities and construction materials.

“This isn’t just about building baseball fields — it’s about building memories, pride, and opportunity,” Mayor Kegan Schmicker said.

The Tipton Baseball Complex will feature a 350’ Babe Ruth Diamond, a 200’ Cal Ripken Diamond and a dedicated Pee Wee Diamond. The complex along with concession and restroom facilities, spectator seating, and public amenities.

The campaign has already gotten support with over 20% of the $1 million goal pledged by community members.

This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.

(AP) — Lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades say that “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been barred from meeting attorneys, are being held without any charges and that a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings.

A virtual hearing in federal court in Miami was being held Monday on a lawsuit that was filed July 16. A new motion on the case was filed Friday.

Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been told that the immigration court doesn’t have jurisdiction over their clients, the attorneys wrote in court papers. The immigration attorneys demanded that federal and state officials identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees and start accepting petitions for bond, claiming the detainees constitutional rights to due process are being violated.

“This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, with no ability to access the courts, under legal authority that has never been explained and may not exist,” the immigration attorneys wrote. “This is an unprecedented and disturbing situation.”

The lawsuit is the second one challenging “Alligator Alcatraz.” Environmental groups last month sued federal and state officials asking that the project built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades be halted because the process didn’t follow state and federal environmental laws.

Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state’s aggressive push to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has praised Florida for coming forward with the idea, as the department looks to significantly expand its immigration detention capacity.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social