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.
The 17-year-old was walking to his bus on North Linwood Avenue just after 6 a.m. when he was shot, neighbor Julie Hinds told WTHR. She said she heard the gunshots and the victim screaming.
The Indianapolis Police Department said the teen was rushed to a hospital and was in critical condition. Officers told CBS 4 that the teen ran home after he was shot and passed out as his mother called the police.
Another child was shot on North Bradley Avenue about two hours after the first shooting, less than a mile away.
That child was said to be 2 years old, reported Fox 59. Police said the toddler was rushed to a hospital and was in stable condition.
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.
#BREAKING Teen boy shot while walking to school bus stop on Indy’s east side near Linwood Ave and E Washington St https://t.co/crEz8qbn6I pic.twitter.com/kCNjYw7T7G
— FOX59 News (@FOX59) August 13, 2019
2 juveniles shot within hours in Indianapolis, 1 while walking to bus stop https://t.co/ocAxTmomQM via @indystar
— Mykal McEldowney (@mykalmphoto) August 13, 2019
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.
According to SafeWise, which analyzes federal crime data, Indianapolis was the ninth most dangerous city in the nation, coming behind St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Albuquerque.
The number of murders has risen steadily since 2014, hitting 156 in 2018, reported the Indianapolis Star.
“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.”
Violent Weekend: 14 people shot, 3 killed across Indianapolis in less than 72 hours https://t.co/5CWP4m1t65
— Katie Cox RTV6 (@KatieJoCox) August 5, 2019
Recent Shootings
A day before the two children were shot, five people were shot in multiple shootings late Sunday into early Monday.
The first weekend of August saw 14 people get shot, with three being fatally wounded, reported RTV6.
Few of the suspects were apprehended for the shootings, which started on Friday morning.
The Indianapolis Star reported that nine people were killed across nine days starting on July 28 and including a man shot by police and a woman who was strangled and stabbed.
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.
