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Editor’s note: This story has been updated.Â
Clark County courts are closed Wednesday as two local judges are hospitalized in Indianapolis following an overnight shooting. Clark Circuit Judge Andrew Adams is in stable condition and Circuit Judge Bradley Jacobs is in critical and stable condition after being wounded in the shooting early Wednesday morning.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Officer Genae Cook said Adams and Jacobs were wounded in a shooting in the parking lot of a downtown Indianapolis White Castle restaurant at 55 W. South St.
News reports say Jacobs is being treated at Eskenazi Health and Adams at IU Health Methodist, though spokespeople for both hospitals declined to confirm those reports.
The judges, both of whom were elected in 2014, were attending a judicial conference in Indianapolis when they were shot following a disturbance at a nearby bar. Cook said detectives found no evidence suggesting they were targeted because they are judges. Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael, who is also in Indianapolis at the judge’s conference, said the incident “appears to be a random act of violence.”
Andrews presides over Clark Circuit Court 1, while Jacobs presides over Clark Circuit Court 2, both in Jeffersonville.
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush has visited with the families of both judges, according to a Supreme Court spokeswoman.
“Our judges across the state are heartbroken to learn of this violent act against our colleagues,” Rush said in a statement. “We send our prayers for a speedy recovery for both Judge Jacobs and Judge Adams and our love and support to their families and the Clark County community.”
The Indiana legal community is responding to the “terrible news” of the shooting. In a statement to Indiana Lawyer, Clark County Bar Association President Anna Murray said the the local legal community is tight-knit, and the injured judges are well-known.
“Our local legal community is shocked by what took place,” Murray said in the statement. “We are very concerned for their health and well-being. We all hope they have a full recovery.”
Todd J. Spurgeon, president of the Indiana State Bar Association, also offered “heartfelt support and prayers for the judges’ recovery.”
“I have appeared before these judges many times, and count them among my friends in this community,” Spurgeon, a New Albany practitioner, said in a statement released through the ISBA. “Although our justice system is generally adversarial by nature, we are one legal community, and at times like this we come together to life up our colleagues and their families.”
In a statement released through the Supreme Court, Carmichael, of Clark Circuit Court 4, said she “has spoken with fellow judges who were with Judge Adams and Judge Jacobs and she has been advised certain reports circulating about the event are inaccurate.” However, Carmichael did not specify which publicly reported details she believes are inaccurate, but instead “urge(d) caution until police provide details and/or make an arrest.”
“Judge Carmichael appreciates the outpouring of support and love from the members of the Clark County community,” the Supreme Court said.
Clark County courts will reopen tomorrow.
