Two people have been arrested in the Indianapolis murder of the daughter of Chicago community activist Andrew Holmes, according to Holmes.
Tamara Sword, a 32-year-old mother of five, was at a Phillips 66 gas station near Lafayette Square mall at about 2:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted around her, striking her in the chest, Holmes said in August 2015. More than 45 shell casings were found on the scene.
Holmes said earlier this week, Indianapolis Police told him they secured two arrest warrants in his daughter's death. On Wednesday, police said two people were taken into custody.
The suspects were identified as Michael Edwards, 33, and Kenneth Jones, 28, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Police said they believe a disturbance at a nightclub spilled out, and ended in gunfire.
Edwards and Jones were arrested on warrants for murder and attempted murder, police said. During the course of the arrest, detectives served a search warrant in the 5000 block of Clarkson Drive where several weapons and a small amount of narcotics were seized, according to police.
Police said back in August they were called to the scene at the gas station in the 3800 block of Lafayette Road for a report of shots fired. When they arrived, they found a large group of people congregated outside the gas station. When they saw the police, many of them fled.
Shell casings were found in the gas station parking lot as well as at a building a few doors down and a nearby Taco Bell parking lot, according to Officer Rafael Diaz.
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"From what we can tell there was some type of disturbance that occurred involving a large amount of gunfire," Diaz said.
Police said a man, believed to be an adult, was found underneath a vehicle in the parking lot and pronounced dead on the scene. A woman was found inside the same vehicle with apparent gunshot wounds, Diaz said. She was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Police identified the woman in the car as Sword and the man found underneath it as Joshua Riggins, 28.
Holmes is a well-known anti-violence activist in Chicago. He has often served as the spokesperson for families who have lost a member to gun violence.
"I cried all the way here," Holmes said. "That's my daughter. I work in the city with the crime up there, but when it hits home, it hits home."
Sword was a manager at a KFC in Indianapolis, where she lived with her five children, Holmes said.
