INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Downtown residents and shoppers voiced safety concerns after a woman was attacked Tuesday evening inside Circle Centre Mall.
A homeless woman walked up to a shopper and punched her repeatedly in the face “for no reason,” witnesses told police.
The incident occurred around 6:15 p.m. on the second floor of the mall, near Cinnabon, police said.
Adilah Patton, 23, was arrested when she returned to the mall less than three hours after the attack.
She was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury and criminal trespass, according to court documents obtained by News 8.
“The victim was very upset and scared,” the probable cause affidavit states. “She [showed] redness and bruising to the right side her face.”
Although authorities described the incident as “isolated,” downtown resident Charles Gallagher said he planned to “keep an eye on [his] surroundings” at Circle Centre Mall.
“I go to the mall a lot, especially during the lunch hours,” Gallagher told News 8. “It does make me a little bit wary about going to the [food court] now at the mall.”
Another downtown resident who requested not to be identified in this report said he planned to avoid walking near the shopping center at night.
“I used to think this was a very safe part of downtown but too much has happened here recently,” he told News 8.
In September, six people were shot outside the mall along Maryland Street after a confrontation between two groups of teens, authorities said.
Representatives for Simon Property Group did not immediately respond to questions about mall security from News 8.
Patton had previously been arrested and charged with criminal trespass following an August incident at Circle Centre Mall; the charge was dismissed, according to online court records.
In October, Patton pleaded guilty in a separate case to criminal trespass and battery against a public safety official. Conditions of her plea agreement included mental health evaluation and treatment, according to a sentencing order obtained by News 8.
Several downtown shoppers called for compassion after learning the suspect in Tuesday’s mall incident was a homeless woman who had been court-ordered to undergo mental health treatment.
“There’s a sense that homeless people are second-class citizens,” said Jay Boehmer, a Toronto resident attending a convention in downtown Indianapolis. “Everybody matters.”
PHOTO: WISH TV
