Man tripping on mushrooms fatally shot friend, documents allege

A 25-year-old Purdue University graduate who was killed Sunday night was shot by a man in a hallucinogenic-mushrooms-fueled trip, court documents allege.

Prosecutors have charged David Scott, 21, with murder and attempted murder in connection with the shooting death of Ian Buschmann, and the injury of his roommate, Jacob Spears.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at an apartment in the 1600 block of Centurion Circle and saw David Scott standing outside the building with his hands up, a probable cause affidavit said.

"Take me to jail," Scott yelled to police after a chaotic situation that witnesses said was triggered by the man's drug use, the document said.

Spears told police a group was hanging out at the Far-Northside apartment when Scott took out a gun and started shooting, injuring him and killing Buschmann, the affidavit alleges.

Spears told police Scott did "shrooms" and was "tripping real bad" before he took out his gun and started shooting, according to the affidavit.

Police also spoke with Spears' girlfriend, who told them she was in a bedroom when she heard gunshots.

The woman told police she came out and saw Scott with a gun. She said he charged toward her, so she ran back into her bedroom and shut the door, the affidavit said.

The woman said she hid in a closet and called 911.

A neighbor told police he saw Scott pacing and saying, "What did I just do?"

When interviewed, Scott told investigators the shooting was an accident, the affidavit said. Scott said that the gun went off when he tried to clean it and that he didn't mean to shoot his friends.

The Indianapolis Star has reached out to Scott's public defender, Benjamin Jaffe.

Scott appeared in court Wednesday for an initial hearing. A judge set a trial date for May 18.

Friends of Buschmann said they were shocked to hear of the death of their friend, who graduated from Purdue in 2012 with a degree in biology.

Carl Simmons, who has called Buschmann a friend since the two were sixth-grade classmates, said the man was job searching in Indianapolis. Buschmann was thinking of applying to be a grader for the ISTEP exam, Simmons said.

For Simmons, the death is hard to grasp, especially as it seemed to be a tragic result of drug use, he said.

"It could have been avoided," Simmons said.

Call Star reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.