A councilman backed a data center project. Then 13 bullets and a ‘No Data Centers’ note hit his home

Ron Gibson, a city-county councilmember, woke up just before 1AM on Monday to find 13 bullet holes in his home, along with a note on his doorstep  that read “No Data Centers.” He and his 8-year-old son were home at the time, according to a statement released by the councilmember on Monday, though neither reported injuries.

“Just steps from where those bullets struck is our dining room table, where my son had been playing with his Legos the day before,” Councilmember Gibson wrote in a statement. “That reality is deeply unsettling.”

The shooting appears to have been politically motivated, tied to a proposed data center in Indianapolis’s Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. Less than a week prior to the incident, Gibson had voiced his support for the construction of a data center in his district. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a rezoning petition on April 1 in a 6-2 vote for a 14-acre $500 million data center project for Metrobloks, an LA-based data center developer, as reported by Mirror Indy. Gibson isn’t on the commission that voted to approve the rezoning measure, but he supported the commission’s decision in a statement last week as the data center construction site falls in his district. 

The clash reflects a broader tension playing out across the U.S. as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google race to expand data center capacity to meet surging AI demand. Data centers projects, which are necessary to power AI, are increasingly running into resistance from communities concerned about energy use, water consumption, noise, and land use. 

Growing backlash to AI data centers across the U.S.

In suburban and rural towns where tech companies are pouring significant investment into AI infrastructure, residents are increasingly pushing back against the development. Nonprofit organization Environmental and Energy Study Institute has reported complaints from communities in Arizona, Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas about the noise and environmental impacts of data centers. Researchers have warned data centers could negatively impact their surrounding environments, including creating “heat islands” that warm the surrounding six miles. 

In Southaven, Miss., for example, residents have complained of a “jet engine roar” from a gas turbine powering a data center for Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI, NBC News reported.

The rezoning proposal to construct the data center in Indianapolis faced backlash last week, Mirror Indy reported. Several community leaders and clergy members opposed the project during a public hearing prior to the vote. Many cited environmental pollution concerns, as well as fear of rising energy costs.

Americans are increasingly likely to say they dislike AI. A recent poll of registered voters found that just 26% of Americans have a favorable view of AI, and 46% held a negative view. That’s led many politicians to seize upon the backlash to the technology. Politicians of both parties across the country have introduced AI regulation bills, including data center moratoriums in multiple states. Political violence has been on the rise, too. In September, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University. Perpetrators carried out two attempted assassinations on President Donald Trump in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election.

Gibson, a Democrat who has served on the Indianapolis City Council since 2023, thanked the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, as well as the FBI and Homeland Security for their work on the investigation. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for updates to the investigation into the incident.

The councilmember forcefully condemned the attack in his statement. “I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” he wrote.