Five women injured in Bloomington shooting during Little 500 weekend

Police said a late-night fight on East Kirkwood Avenue escalated into gunfire as thousands packed Bloomington’s campus corridor for Little 500 weekend, leaving five women wounded and four other people injured in the aftermath.

The shooting broke out about 12:25 a.m. Sunday, April 26, 2026, near Indiana University’s campus, outside the Five Guys restaurant on Kirkwood Avenue. Bloomington police chief Michael Diekhoff said officers initially believed nine people had been struck by gunfire, but investigators later determined that five people were hurt by gunfire and four others were injured during the chaotic scene.

All five victims were women, ages 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22. Police said all but one had been released from the hospital by Sunday, and the remaining victim was in stable condition.

Investigators said the violence began with a physical altercation between two women in front of the restaurant. Video and cellphone footage from nearby businesses showed multiple people drawing handguns, and authorities said two separate people fired weapons. The shot-up stretch of Kirkwood Avenue was crowded with students, visitors and alumni drawn to one of Indiana University’s biggest annual traditions, a weekend that turns the business district beside campus into a dense gathering place.

Indiana University Police Department officers, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Indiana State Police investigators responded to the scene. State police used a helicopter, and investigators also deployed remotely piloted aerial vehicles to document the area after the shooting.

The incident underscored how quickly the celebration atmosphere around Little 500 can turn dangerous when large crowds, alcohol-fueled disputes and guns collide in a tightly packed corridor of restaurants and sidewalks. Kirkwood Avenue sits at the center of that pressure point each spring, when the university’s signature bike race draws thousands into a narrow stretch of downtown Bloomington.

For Bloomington, the episode added another public-safety crisis to a weekend built around one of Indiana University’s best-known traditions. The victims were all young women, and the injuries unfolded in a place where students and visitors were supposed to be celebrating, not running for cover.