January 13, 2023

Beloved Indianapolis youth football coach killed in Greenwood

Richard Donnell Hamilton was like a father to many of the Indy Steelers players. Hamilton died in a shooting Jan. 11, 2023, in Greenwood. - Stephanie Mbathi/Side Effects Public Media

Richard Donnell Hamilton was like a father to many of the Indy Steelers players. Hamilton died in a shooting Jan. 11, 2023, in Greenwood.

Stephanie Mbathi/Side Effects Public Media

Richard Donnell Hamilton, a beloved youth football coach and founder of the Indy Steelers youth football team, died in a shooting Jan. 11 in Greenwood.

According to Indiana State Police, first responders were called to the area of I-65 and County Line Road for reports of a person shot at approximately 6:30 p.m.

First responders found a man, later identified as 43-year-old Hamilton, unresponsive in the passenger seat of a white van with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police believe the van was targeted by people in another vehicle but couldn’t immediately confirm if it was a road rage incident, Public Information Officer John C. Perrine said.

Hamilton was known as a mentor for the players on his Steelers team, which he had coached for more than a decade at Tarkington Park, near the MLK Center.

The MLK Center shared a care fund for Hamilton’s family on Give Lively.

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