A teenage boy was shot while walking to his school bus in Indianapolis on Aug. 13 and another juvenile was hit by a bullet elsewhere in the city.
Another child was shot on North Bradley Avenue about two hours after the first shooting, less than a mile away.
No suspects have been arrested as of yet and neither victim was identified by name. It wasn’t clear how the toddler was hit by a bullet.
Shootings in Indy
Indianapolis, with a population of around 870,000, has struggled with a worsening crime problem that’s made it one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.“Most people don’t think that you can do anything about it,” Rev. Charles Harrison, an anti-violence advocate, told the Star. “You cannot get the guns off the street. You’re not able to deal with the issues of poverty and broken families and the hopelessness these kids are feeling.”
“I think they’re very vulnerable in our society today because many of them are growing up in neighborhoods where there’s a higher level of crime and violence taking place,” Harrison added about black males. “It frustrates me. I’m frustrated that we haven’t done a better job in this city of addressing this problem.”
Recent Shootings
A day before the two children were shot, five people were shot in multiple shootings late Sunday into early Monday.Few of the suspects were apprehended for the shootings, which started on Friday morning.
Shamar Cole, 18, was found on July 28 with a gunshot wound near Fountain Square and soon pronounced dead. A day later, 19-year-old Evelyn Lopez was found stabbed and strangled, and a day after that, 44-year-old Robert Sanders was shot dead. Tyrone Cathey, 25, was killed on July 31.
In early August, the victims were identified as DeShon Downing, who was shot by police officers after allegedly brandishing a gun, 32-year-old Joseph Aikens, 26-year-old Miles Cross, 25-year-old Shainita Caffey, and 29-year-old Debronski Devon Leono.
So far this year, the Star reported, there were 83 homicides. That number was down by two from the same date last year.
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