The motive of a shooting that has left four people dead, including a child, is being pinned on an argument over (and one person’s alleged entitlement to) stimulus money.
The shooting took place in Indianapolis this past Saturday. Fox 59, who had a detailed rundown of the incident, said that suspect Malik Halfacre approached Jeanettrius Moore about his belief that he should get half of her stimulus check. Moore is the mother of two young daughters, one of whom she shares with Halfacre.
A cousin of Moore’s, Wendy Johnson, spoke to the local Fox outlet, and said that Halfacre “wanted some of Jeanettrius’ tax money, stimulus money.”
She relayed a conversation they had as follows, and said that this occurred the day before the shooting:
“She said, ‘No, you don’t deserve any of this. I work. I take care of our child. You don’t do anything.’
Johnson went on to say that she was told Halfacre waited outside of Moore’s home on Saturday evening. “[Jeanettrius] said he gave her an evil look and walked off,” Johnson added. “He came back.”
When Halfacre had returned he reportedly demanded to know where “the money” was, prior to going through Jeanettrius’ purse.
Picking up from that point, police say Halfacre shot and killed four people. The dead were identified by the family as Jeanettrius’ 7-year-old daughter, Eve, her 23-year-old brother, Daquan, her 44-year-old mother, Tomeeka Brown, and her 35-year-old cousin Anthony Johnson. Jeanettrius was also wounded, her other daughter (the one she shared with Halfacre) was reported missing, and Halfacre went on the run.
“Daquan was trying to save his sister. He was taking up for his sister,” Johnson said. “He stood up and said, ‘You cannot have the money. You cannot have her money.’ That’s what she said and pushed Malik, and Malik pulled out the gun and just started killing everybody.
“He shot Daquan first. He shot Anthony. He turned around, and he shot my Auntie Tomeeka. My Auntie Tomeeka said, ‘Malik!’ and he shot her again. He came back and shot Daquan for the second time and somewhere between little Baby Eve got hit somewhere and she was screaming, she was screaming.”
That was not the end of the chaos. Johnson said Jeanettrius told her that Halfacre returned to the home after putting their daughter in a child safety seat and fired more shots.
“He went back in the house, and that’s when he shot Anthony again when he was coming down the steps,” Johnson said. “When he went in the house, that was Jeanettrius’ cue to run for her life, and that’s what she did. Ran for her life in traffic across New York Street and knocking on everyone’s doors.”
Halfacre, an ex-con, was accused of shooting a man in the same city in early 2017. He was released in 2018 after filing a guilty plea for a lesser charge.
Lorenzo Moore, another brother of Jeanettrius’, also spoke to Fox. He had walked into the home and discovered the bodies of his family members after the crime occurred.
“We always knew that he carried a gun,” said Lorenzo of the suspect, after noting his disbelief at coming across the gruesome scene. “He didn’t have a job — just laying around being lazy.”
Lorenzo also said his sister was afraid of the alleged shooter, adding, “It was like you could feel this fear, but you never want to do anything about it because you’re too scared and it might come to what it’s come to. Just him being angry about not having any money and him not doing anything for himself, so he thought he would just take something from her.”
Several hours after the shooting the couple’s missing baby was found, unharmed. Within 24 hours Halfacre was also arrested, though that didn’t occur until after a four-hour-long stand off with a SWAT team.
