Village shootout raises Ball State emergency system issues

A shootout three blocks from campus Friday has raised concerns regarding student safety, but Ball State officials said there was no immediate danger to students. 

Two Muncie Police Department officers, Steve Baugh and Brent Brown, were injured during the shootout in the Village Pantry parking lot on University Avenue. The suspect of a Muncie Radio Shack robbery died shortly after the shooting, Delaware County Coroner Scott Hahn said.

Ball State sent a public safety notice email about an hour after the 2 p.m. incident occurred. Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of marketing and communications, said the notice was meant to inform students of the situation and that no one on campus was in danger.

"The reason there was no threat to campus was because the incident happened over a short time frame of just a few moments," he said. "It was completely contained in that one area, and it was over as quickly as it began. The suspect was in custody as soon as the shooting was over."

Proudfoot said he heard second- and third- hand reports that some classrooms were put on lock down, but the university did not instruct them to do so.

"As information spreads quickly through social media and text messaging, I suppose it is possible some faculty members or staff members took action on their own," he said.

Hahn identified the suspect as Mark Christopher Bowen of Pennsylvania and that he told his mentor he planned to attend Ball State, the Star Press reported, but calls to MPD were not returned to the Daily News.

Proudfoot said Bowen was not a Ball State student and he doesn't know if he ever applied to the university.

MPD conducted a sting operation to buy back stolen cell phones and other electronics when the suspect began shooting through the windshield of a gold Pontiac Bonneville.

Witnesses said they heard between eight and 14 gunshots, but MPD deputy chief Mark Vollmar said the exact number was not immediately known on Friday afternoon. Shell casings were found in the Ball State Federal Credit Union parking lot across the street from the Village Pantry.

Brown was shot in the shoulder. His bullet-proof vest stopped the round, and he was treated and released. Baugh, who was riding in the front seat and in full uniform, was shot in the face. He was transported by EMS and is in stable condition, according to a press release on Friday afternoon from the Indiana State Police, which is assisting in the investigation.

Crowds of students and Muncie residents gathered outside of Be Here Now, Dill Street Bar and Grill and the credit union. Crime scene tape surrounded the gas station, blocking off University Avenue between Dill and Dick streets into the evening.

Witness Eric Clark said he was on his computer in his apartment in the Village at Martin Street when he heard six gunshots. He said he looked outside and saw three squad cars surrounding the white Chevy Suburban in the parking lot and heard police yelling for the suspect to get on the ground.

"I started screaming like, ‘Hell no!'" he said. "I was just thinking, ‘this is not real.'"

Witness Jase Schoenherr arrived at the scene right after the shots were fired.

"Right when I got here, the ambulance came," he said. "They took the [suspect] away, and I saw all of the blood on the guy. He looked like he was almost dead."

Senior architecture major Tiffany Lim, who lives in Windsor Apartments next to Village Pantry, said the shooting hasn't made her feel less safe on campus or at her apartment.

"The thing is, since it is a gas station, I feel like [there] was a possibility of that sort of thing happening [because of robberies]," she said. "It is just higher since I live next to a gas station."

Kelly Dickey contributed to this story.