Police identified the victim as 30-year-old Joshua Thompson after the Thursday evening shooting.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — A 30-year-old man died after he was shot Thursday evening at the Budget 8 Inn on Indianapolis’ east side, where police and city officials have faced years of complaints tied to crime and safety.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were sent shortly before 6:30 p.m. May 14 to the motel at 6850 E. 21st St., near Interstate 70 and Shadeland Avenue, after a report of a person shot. Officers found a man in critical condition. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office identified him as Joshua Thompson.
The homicide investigation is the latest violent case reported at the Budget 8 Inn, a property that has drawn public concern, police attention and legal action over its business license. Police said investigators were working to determine what led to the shooting, whether surveillance video captured key moments and who may have seen the gunfire. No motive had been released, and police had not announced formal charges in the case as of the latest public update.
Officers arrived at the motel as evening traffic moved through the busy commercial stretch near East 21st Street and Shadeland Avenue. Police taped off part of the property while homicide detectives began canvassing the area. A person believed to be connected to the shooting was detained for questioning, but police did not immediately say that person had been arrested. IMPD Officer Bryan Reed said the department was treating the case as a serious loss for Thompson’s family. “You know this was a tragic incident. Someone lost a loved one and family member, and we want the public to help us solve this,” Reed said.
Investigators were reviewing the motel grounds, speaking with people who were in the area and checking for video from nearby cameras. Police have not said whether the shooting happened inside a room, outside on the property or in another part of the motel grounds. They also have not released details about the number of shots fired or whether Thompson was the intended target. The investigation was assigned to IMPD’s Homicide Office, with Detective TyAnn Lambert listed as the detective handling the case. Police said the Marion County Coroner’s Office would determine the exact cause and manner of death, a standard step in fatal shooting cases.
The Budget 8 Inn has been a known trouble spot for years. Local reports have tied the property to several fatal shootings and repeated calls for police service. The motel sits along a corridor with gas stations, restaurants, service businesses and highway access, making it a visible property for drivers entering and leaving the east side. Neighbors and people who have stayed at or near the motel have raised concerns in past reports about violence, drug activity and general safety. The property’s history has made each new violent incident part of a broader debate over how Indianapolis handles motels that draw frequent emergency calls.
The motel’s owners and the city have also fought in court over licensing. Federal court records show Kartik Patel and PMK Corporation, doing business as Budget 8 Inn, sued the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County and the city’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services after officials denied the motel’s license renewal application. The business challenged that decision and alleged it was based on false information related to 911 calls by hotel guests. In early 2024, a federal judge noted that the city had agreed to a stay that allowed the motel to remain open while judicial review of the administrative process continued.
The court case centered on whether the city’s administrative process for the motel license was fair and whether the business should be allowed to keep operating during the review. The judge denied several motions as moot after the stay was already in place, denied a city request to separate parts of the case and ordered the city defendants to answer the amended complaint by March 15, 2024. The order also vacated a planned March 11, 2024, hearing and asked a magistrate judge to work with the parties on a new schedule for discovery and a later hearing on the license dispute.
The shooting left another death attached to a property already under close public watch. Police did not release information about whether Thompson had been staying at the motel, visiting someone there or passing through the property. They also did not say whether the person detained for questioning knew Thompson. The lack of those details left the case in an early stage, with investigators focused on witness accounts, video and physical evidence from the scene. Reed said police wanted disputes to be handled without violence, while also stressing that detectives needed help from people who knew what happened.
By the weekend, the case remained an active homicide investigation. Police had identified Thompson as the victim, but key questions about motive, charges and the events before the shooting had not been answered. The next public milestone is expected to come from IMPD, the prosecutor’s office or court records if an arrest or charging decision is made.
Author note: Last updated 2026-05-17.