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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSeven young people between the ages of 12 and 17 were wounded in a shooting in a busy business area of downtown Indianapolis late Saturday night, police said.
Police officers patrolling the area heard shots fired near the intersection of Illinois and Maryland streets shortly after 11:30 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Tanya Terry said.
The intersection is outside Circle Centre Mall, which had been closed for at least four hours at that time. Several restaurants and other businesses are in the vicinity, including Sugar Factory, Steak n Shake, Yard House, Nada, Dick’s Last Resort, Le Meridien Indianapolis and St. Elmo Steak House.
The officers found “a large group of juveniles” at the scene, including six who had gunshot wounds and were transported to area hospitals, Terry said during a news briefing at the scene early Sunday morning.
One of the victims was upgraded from critical to stable condition. The other victims all were listed in stable condition, said Terry.
A seventh juvenile with a gunshot wound arrived separately at a hospital and was in stable condition, she said.
Online reports indicated that four males and three females suffered gunshot wounds.
“Once again, we have a situation in which young people are resolving conflict with firearms, and it has to stop,” Terry said, later adding, “Conflict should not lead to somebody pulling out a gun and trying to resolve it. The consequences are eternal.”
Investigators believe there was more than one gun used in the shooting, Terry said.
No arrests were made and police did not have any suspects, she said.
WXIN Channel 59 said three victims sought safety inside Sugar Factory, prompting a panic-filled scene in which patrons, who had heard the gunshots, to hide on the floor behind tables and chairs.
Mayor Joe Hogsett released a statement Sunday blaming juvenile access to gun as a major factor in the incident.
“This Easter Sunday, I am heartbroken for the young people whose lives have been impacted by what occurred last night,” Hogsett said in the statement. “Let me be clear: a 12-year-old child has no business being out late at night anywhere without parental or adult supervision. As important, there is no reason why a young person at any age should be in possession of a gun.”
“But no level of law enforcement or community programming can keep guns out of the hands of every young person in our city. Solutions will require all of us to address the ease with which our youth access and turn to firearms to solve their conflicts. The city of Indianapolis is continuing to build on our $150 million violence reduction strategy, including hiring a chief violence prevention officer who will focus exclusively on youth and working to prosecute those who provide firearms to minors.”
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Where are all my people who want to tell me there is no crime, violence in the Downtown? Glad nobody was killed. Ridicules. Only thing that will stop this is aggressive policing when it comes to the masses of juveniles that descend on downtown. Can’t only do it when there is an event in town.
You answered your own question…Where were the police? Saturday night is primetime for foolishness but yet it still happened.
The NBA ALL STAR game, The NFL Combine, The FFA convention among other large events with plenty of young folks and we dont hear of any violence accruing at any of those events because most times teens are accompanied by adults and aren’t out that late without adult supervision. Please stop with the fear mongering. Downtown Indy is just a safe as any suburb. Crime downtown is usually selective and not towards complete strangers. Most times the victims know their attackers. It’s unlikely you’ll be targeted personally. Now if there’s carjackings, bank robberies and people getting held up by gunpoint on a regular basis, then I could see your point but that’s not happening.
learn about rate statistics & per-capita numbers
Kevin P.
Agreed that most violence downtown is specifically targeted. The problem
is when these kids start spraying when shooting.
Second, these large groups of teens ( with no parental supervision ) causing problems would never be tolerated in the suburbs.
** You get what you tolerate. **
Sorry should have finished my drink of coffee before reading that downtown is as safe as any suburb. Don’t know what to say other than you’re obviously a dedicated liberal or part of city government.
“Downtown Indy is just a safe as any suburb”.
Is that why there are more homicides per month in Marion County than per decade in Hamilton County?
Since when is Downtown Indy considered all of Marion County??? Strange strawman argument.
Pay close attention, I specified downtown not the entire metro area. Lets say downtown Indy has lots and lots of crime, you’re being misleading to ignore the fact that its targeted. Basically the victims know their attackers. Random people aren’t getting robbed and attacked downtown. This is people coming downtown that have beef with each other and just so happen to cross paths downtown instead of in the urban neighborhoods aka The Hood! I’ve spent many evenings downtown on dates and attending sporting events and im glad to say I personally never experienced or witness any type of violence.
This is not a gun problem. This is a parental problem.
Why are 12 year olds and other young teens downtown that late
with NO PARENTAL supervision???
Because the government put them all in jail in the 80s and 90s for weed possession and now two generations later an entire culture of our society continues to recuperate from 400+ years of concentrated suppression.
Most likely…
+1
+1 JJ
The stupidity of JJ’s comment is stunning even for an IBJ reader. What “culture” are you referring to JJ? And if we locked them all up 40 years ago, how did they reproduce grandkids gang banging at the mall in 2024?
Of course if someone here said “everyone” in a particular “culture” smokes weed they would accurately be called stereotypical racist, but Democrat sanctioned racism is encouraged here at the Nuvo Business Journal.
chuck W thank you for making sense.
So, Chuck…. your counter argument is red-lining did not exist. The heroine epidemic did not exist. and 400+ years of suppression does not exist?
and the basic statistics of children who were raised in a single parent household just happened to 4x between 1975 and 2000 does not exist?
I guess if you ignore all data and history…. you have a point!
JJ what has happened for 40 years is failed liberal policies – liberals who see blacks as inferior and treat them differently. THAT is why we are here now. your veiled racism and white guilt has gotten us here.
J.J
Do you know what percentage of black children lived in two parent households
before Johnson’s great society programs ( Dem liberal policies ) vereses
after. If you don’t loook it up!
Was the war on drugs smart?? That’s debatable.
But understand, this, hard drugs, especially crack was devastating black neighborhoods, and residents were demanding action and harsher penalties.
One more time, What happened downtown last Saturday night is a
parental problem.
Guns and parenting. Look at the Landsharks incident in Broad Ripple. Why is a woman concealing a gun in her bra? And downtown, why are kids out that late unsupervised (and with a gun)? This issue runs deep all across our country. Easy access to guns and poor parenting.
Hey Mayor “Nowhere to be Found” Joe, want to stop kids getting their hands on guns? Make an effort to discourage out-of-wedlock children. After all, you Dems love abortion. Better yet, make an effort to bring fathers back in the home. Kids with guns is a parenting problem.
John…my kids have 2 fathers…has nothing to do w guns…and neither do we.
Stay on the subject sir
This guy is a master at pointing out problems. Unfortunately he needs to bring solutions.
Kind of hard to bring solutions when the State will always block anything meaningful.
Ryan Mears is terrible and the people of Indy re-elected him. you all deserve what you get
really we need to get rid of all these republican judges who keep ignoring Mears office’s request for maximum bond/bail and letting murderers leave the state with a promise they will come back…
Best prosecutor in the state.
This isn’t a prosecutor problem.
It’s a gun problem, and a parental supervision problem. Period.
This is a Prosecutor problem with many other problems interwoven
to create this mess.
Ryan Mears specifically said that he would lower certain crimes to
misdemeanors to address racial equity. ** See a problem with that **
Maybe they need to call in the National Guard for more police presence. This kind of activity destroyed Circle Centre mall years ago. Indianapolis has made the national news over the last three days for gun violence. You would think the State of Indiana would become more pro gun control.