City-County Councilor’s home vandalized following data center meeting

A City-County Councilor and his 8-year-old son escaped injury early Monday morning after an assailant fired more than a dozen rounds into his home and left a note that read “No Data Centers,” an act authorities are calling an “isolated, targeted incident.”

Councilor Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the Indianapolis City-County Council, said the shooting occurred between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just hours after Easter Sunday. An unknown individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of Gibson’s residence on East 41st Street and left the handwritten note on his doorstep.

According to police, the FBI is now assisting the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) in the investigation.

Gibson and his son were asleep inside the home when the gunfire erupted, shattering a glass storm door and leaving bullet holes across the front entrance. The councilor said he immediately ran to his son’s room to reassure him that he was safe.

“Just steps from where those bullets struck is our dining room table, where my son had been playing with his Legos the day before. That reality is deeply unsettling,” Gibson said in a statement. “This was not just an attack on my home, but endangered my child and disrupted the safety of our entire neighborhood.”

The attack comes less than a week after Gibson publicly supported a vote by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission to approve rezoning for a proposed $500 million data center in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, which falls within his district. The project, proposed by the Los Angeles-based startup Metrobloks, has drawn months of heated opposition from many area residents who cite concerns over environmental justice, a lack of transparency and what they see as minimal long-term benefits to the community.

At the public hearing on April 1, Gibson was heckled and booed after speaking in favor of the project.

“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said. “I am a public servant, but I am also a father and a neighbor. This act brought violence into our neighborhood, the very thing I work every day to stand against.”

Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett weighed in on the situation, calling it a “scary ordeal.”

“I am thankful Councilor Gibson and his son are safe after a scary ordeal at their home earlier today,” Hogsett said in a statement. “No matter our difference, violence is never the answer. No family in Indianapolis should have to experience this type of violence in a place where they should feel safe and secure: their home.”

City-County Council President Maggie A. Lewis condemned the violence in a statement, saying the council “stand[s] in unwavering solidarity with Councilor Gibson and his family.”

“Differences in opinion are a natural and necessary part of civic life. But violence, threats, and intimidation are not forms of dialogue — they are attacks on our shared commitment to democracy, civil discourse, and community safety,” Lewis said.

The Republican Caucus issued a statement saying they were “outraged and disturbed” and that “dangerous acts like this are never the answer for disagreements.”

Gibson stressed that the attack will not deter him from his duties.

“This will not deter me. I will continue to serve the residents of this district with integrity and respect for all voices,” Gibson said.

Police have not yet identified any suspects and are asking anyone with information to contact IMPD or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.

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Multimedia Reporter Noral Parham can be contacted at 317-762-7846 or email at noralp@indyrecorder.com.

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