Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ron Gibson is speaking publicly for the first time after gunfire struck his home in what police are calling a targeted attack, an incident that appears tied to the increasingly heated fight over a proposed data center in Martindale-Brightwood.
Gibson said Monday that someone fired multiple rounds into his residence shortly before 1 a.m., leaving behind a note reading, “No data centers,” just days after he publicly backed the controversial Metrobloks project.
No one was injured, but Gibson said the attack hit close to home — literally and emotionally.
“First, I just want to thank Jesus that I’m still here,” Gibson said Monday evening. “Thank God he kept me and my son safe.”
Gibson said his son was asleep inside the home when the shots were fired and remains unaware of what happened.
“My son is unaware of any of the events,” Gibson said. “I shielded him from the event.”
According to Gibson, between 13 and 15 rounds were fired into the home around 12:45 a.m. He initially believed the sound was breaking glass and did not realize until morning that bullets had struck the house.
“When I woke up in the morning and saw the gunshots, I was shocked. I was scared. I was frightened,” he said.
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The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the shooting, with the FBI assisting. Authorities have described the incident as isolated and targeted.
Despite the attack, Gibson made clear that he is not retreating from his support of the data center proposal.
“I believe I made the right decision to support the data center in my district,” Gibson said. “It helps us move from blight to opportunity.”
The project has sparked months of sharp opposition from some Martindale-Brightwood residents, who have raised concerns about environmental impact, industrial use, and the concentration of development burdens in historically Black neighborhoods. Last week, the Metropolitan Development Commission approved the rezoning request and sent the matter to the City-County Council for final consideration.
Republican Minority Leader Brian Mowery sharply condemned the shooting and said policy disagreements must never spill into violence.
“There’s always going to be discourse in public settings,” Mowery said. “And to go to shooting up someone’s house because of this is unacceptable and it’s disgusting.”
Mowery said the attack underscores a troubling trend of political tensions becoming personal and dangerous.
“This isn’t the Wild West,” he said. “You don’t just get to go shoot up a house because you didn’t like what they did.”
He urged frustrated residents to take their concerns to the ballot box instead.
“The best way to do that [is] the ballot box,” Mowery said. “There’s much better ways than ever, ever turning to violence.”
The shooting has already prompted increased security around council proceedings, with visible police presence at Monday night’s meeting and additional precautions expected as the data center debate continues.
For Gibson, however, the message was one of resolve.
“My faith calls me to forgive,” he said. “I would just ask why.”
And, despite the attack, he made clear he intends to keep showing up.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Gibson said. “I’m coming to work every day.”
You can hear Gibson and Mowery in the audio above.
