BLOOMINGTON – On Monday afternoon, Bloomington Police arrested 16-year-old Nikolas ‘Nicky’ Bridgewater after he brought a gun to a fistfight at Switchyard Park.
Police say Bridgewater, of Bloomington, fired five shots during the fight that occurred on Friday morning.
Two bullets hit a 14-year-old male. He was hospitalized and is expected to recover. He suffered gunshot wounds to his calf and buttocks after he turned to run once he saw the gun.
The victim and others identified Bridgewater as the person with the gun. Police contacted Bridgwater’s mother, who said she hadn’t seen her son since Thursday morning. Bridgewell and his mother came to the Bloomington Police Department on Monday afternoon, where he was arrested.
Bridgewater, who is being charged as an adult, is facing four felony counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery, and battery with a deadly weapon.
Bridgewater is being held in the Monroe County Jail on a bond of $100,000 surety and $500 cash. He appeared in Monroe County Circuit Court 9 for his initial court hearing on Wednesday afternoon before Judge Darcie Fawcett. Bridgewater entered a not-guilty plea and was appointed a public defender.
His case is set for a bail review hearing on March 26th. A pretrial conference is set for May 9 at 2:30 p.m., and a jury trial is scheduled for July 15 at 9:00 a.m.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bloomington Police Department Detective Sarah Shannon, police responded to the scene after dispatch received several 911 calls around 5:50 a.m. Friday near Nicholson Mobile Home Park, in the 2300 block of South Rogers Street. That is the location where the tens agreed to meet and fight.
The victim had two friends with him, and Bridgewater had a friend present.
The victim told police Bridgewater, and a second juvenile walked toward him and his friends on South Rogers Street. That is when Bridgewater reached into his pocket and said, “Would I Be wrong if I started shooting ya’ll right now?” He then pulled out a handgun.
Upon seeing the gun, the victim and his friends fled as Bridgewater fired at them. Police found five empty .40-caliber shell casings at the scene.
The incident was confirmed on security camera footage from a nearby apartment complex.
As officers were responding to the scene, an additional caller told police that a juvenile who suffered gunshot wounds was inside a residence in the 500 block of West Hays Court.
Officers located the 14-year-old victim and rendered immediate aid, including applying a tourniquet. The juvenile was transported to a local hospital. He had suffered two gunshot wounds.
Officers interviewed several witnesses and closed Rogers Street to collect evidence.
Police say evidence suggests Bridgewater “knowingly and intentionally attempted to kill” the 14-year-old because he aimed the gun at him in the dark and fired five times as the victim ran away.
“Furthermore, Nikolas knowingly and intentionally created a substantial risk of death or serious permanent disfigurement” and “knowingly and intentionally performed an act that created a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person while armed with a deadly weapon.”
