Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus police investigate a shooting in the 1900 block of Cottage Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
Formal charges have been filed in Bartholomew Circuit Court against a local teen accused of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Skyler Vera, 18, of 4060 N. County Road 150W – B5, Columbus, has been charged with Level 3 felony aggravated battery (with firearm enhancement), Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon (with firearm enhancement) and Level 6 felony pointing a firearm, according to court documents.
Vera is being held in the Bartholomew County Jail. His initial hearing in Bartholomew Circuit Court is at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
The probable cause affidavit filed in the case states that at approximately 3:42 p.m. on March 4, several 911 calls came into dispatch reporting a shooting in the area of 19th and Cottage Avenue in Columbus.
One of those calls came from Vera, who told police that his ex-girlfriend, Makenna Baker, Seymour, drove up to him on Cottage Avenue., allegedly “put her hands on” him after getting out of the vehicle and that in response he “shot her twice.”
Court documents indicate that the two previously dated from about October 2024 to November 2025 and they broke up when Vera was in military training for the Navy.
According to court documents, officers soon arrived at the scene and treated Baker before she was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital and then to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to treat her injuries. Baker was shot in the left side of her chest. The bullet went through her stomach, liver, pancreas and caused a renal wound in her kidney. Doctors had to remove part of her pancreas, according to court documents.
After treating Baker, investigators talked with Vera about what happened, according to court documents.
Vera said that he was walking down Cottage Ave. when Baker pulled up in a car next to him. He said she offered him a ride, which he refused while calling her a “b—-.” Baker then got out of the car and exchanged more harsh words with Vera before allegedly pushing and hitting him, according to Vera’s interview with investigators.
Vera told investigators that after Baker allegedly shoved him a few times, he placed his hand on his concealed weapon on his abdomen – a tactic he said he learned in his time with the Navy training for whenever he felt he was in danger. He then said that after Baker allegedly continued to hit him in the face, he deployed his weapon to stop her from hurting him, according to court documents.
Vera told investigators “I wasn’t trying to kill her” and “I felt like something was gonna happen to me. Like I was gonna get hurt if I let it go on,” according to his statement.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Vera said, “Navy taught a center mass, so I was just trying to get, just like, get rid of the threat. OK. I wasn’t trying to kill her, I didn’t want to kill her. I just wanted to get her away from me. And I just felt like I was in danger to the point where I needed to ‘cause my fam dad and mom told me, never lay your hands on a woman. So as soon as she started slapping me, I, I just thought of a way to just get her away from me.”
One of the residents who lives on Cottage Avenue had a digital camera that recorded the interaction, according to court documents. The camera caught parts of Vera and Baker’s exchange, including a time when Baker could be heard yelling “do it, do it!” several times before the two gunshots went off, according to court documents.
Police recovered Vera’s weapon at the scene, a Glock 19 Gen Five with a 15-round magazine and 1 round in the chamber. Vera described the ammunition to police as “hollow tip 9 millimeters.”
Baker, interviewed by investigators at Methodist Hospital, said she was driving with a friend when they saw Vera walking, and she asked him if he needed a ride because she was a nice person. She said Vera responded with an expletive to get out of his face, calling her a b——. According to court documents, Baker told him that he did not need to be so rude because she was trying to be nice and he repeated the phrase with the expletive to get out of his face. She then told Vera to call her a b—— again while opening her car door to get out, according to court documents.
Baker said she told Vera not to call her a b——, and accused Vera of pushing her and telling her, using an expletive to get out of the way, adding that Vera said, “Don’t make me do it to you,” followed by shooting her in the chest. Baker told investigators that Vera hung up on his current girlfriend, who he had been Facetiming during the incident, and called 911, although he did not try to assist Baker after she was shot.
