Police officer's death, shooting in nightlife district underscore violent year in Indianapolis

Indianapolis Police Chief Rick Hite, left, speaks with a lieutenant after a news conference on the seven-victim shooting in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis on Saturday, July 5, 2014. The shooting in the bar-hopping neighborhood may have been set off by two people bumping into each other in the street, police said Saturday. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Anna Reed) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Dept., shows veteran officer Perry Renn, 51, was shot and killed after he and another patrolman exchanged gunfire with a suspect in an alley Saturday night, July 5, 2014, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Dept.) (The Associated Press)

Police and reporters gather after a news conference on the seven-victim shooting in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis on Saturday, July 5, 2014. The shooting in the bar-hopping neighborhood may have been set off by two people bumping into each other in the street, police said Saturday. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Anna Reed) (The Associated Press)

Indianapolis' violent year has become more so with two holiday weekend shootings, including one that killed a decorated officer.

A grieving public left flowers Sunday on the patrol car of 51-year-old Officer Perry Renn, who on Saturday night became the second Indianapolis police officer killed in the line of duty in fewer than 10 months. Police said the accused gunman, who also was shot and hospitalized, used an assault rifle.

And early Saturday morning, two people that bumped into each other in the Broad Ripple entertainment district apparently set off a gun battle that left seven people wounded, one critically. Police had not made any arrests by Sunday afternoon.

Indianapolis is on track to rival its record of 162 homicides, set in 1998.