Police: Indianapolis sees 100th criminal homicide of 2017

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Police say the fatal shooting of a man in downtown Indianapolis is the city's 100th criminal homicide of the year.

Indianapolis police said the man's shooting death about 3 a.m. Thursday in the city's downtown bar district put the city at that mark for 2017. The figure is slightly less than the 110 such killings the city had at the same time last year.

Indianapolis ended 2016 with a record 149 criminal homicides that were investigated by city police after 144 such slayings in 2015.

Officials have said that poverty, drug abuse and mental illness are driving the increase in homicides as the city's population grows.

Police say a 35-year-old man died from Thursday's shooting that possibly followed a fight. No arrests were immediately made.