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Suspect arrested in Indianapolis shooting that killed 1 Dutch soldier and injured 2 others, police say

By Andi Babineau and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

A man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of three Dutch soldiers outside an Indianapolis hotel Saturday that left one soldier dead and two others wounded, police said.

Shamar Duncan, 22, was taken into custody by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday afternoon, the department said in a news release.

The three Royal Netherlands Army soldiers were shot outside a Hampton Inn early Saturday and were taken to the hospital, authorities said at the time. One of the victims, later identified as Simmie Poetsema, was in critical condition and died Sunday, Dutch officials said.

The other two soldiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said. They have not been identified by authorities.

The soldiers, members of the Commando Corps, were staying at the hotel while in Indiana as part of a training exercise, according to the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

Duncan was arrested for murder, but the police department said it will decide his final charges after reviewing the case, noting that additional charges are possible. Police did not specify where the suspect was apprehended or a possible motive, but previously attributed Saturday’s shooting to a “disturbance” between the victims and the suspect.

During the investigation, Indianapolis detectives spoke with multiple people and obtained video connected to the investigation, the department said.

“IMPD has been in communication with various agencies within the United States and the Netherlands to coordinate family members coming to Indianapolis and returning the victims to the Netherlands,” police said in a statement Monday.

The soldiers had been training at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, a 1,000-acre complex southeast of Indianapolis that is being used for training by the Department of Defense “as well as other allies,” the Indiana National Guard told CNN affiliate WISH in a statement.

The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Liam Reilly and Sarah Diab contributed to this report.

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