Indianapolis, Indiana – This weekend, violence in Marion County has claimed the lives of three people.
Three people were killed: a teenager, a man who authorities suspect was a target, and a stranger who was on a homeowner’s property.
Each incident serves to highlight the difficulty that the police and the community must overcome in order to reduce gun violence in Marion County, despite the fact that tens of millions of dollars have been invested in neighborhood-based anti-violence initiatives and law enforcement equipment, personnel, and training.
After it raced through a northwest neighborhood in the 2000 block of Lohr Drive this morning, colliding over a mailbox and into a parked pickup truck in a driveway, a young man was discovered shot to death inside his SUV.
”Detectives believe the vehicle was at a nearby location to where the vehicle was found and that it was a targeted incident on the victim,” said IMPD Lt. Shane Foley. ”Whether or not the vehicle was in motion or not, we’re not sure but it wasn’t something where the person was just driving by and just randomly got shot.”
With 103 murders so far, IMPD’s 2023 homicide total has surpassed 2022’s year-to-date figures.
The body of a man who was discovered shot to death on a homeowner’s property in the 300 block of Meganwood Court late on Saturday night is being investigated by detectives, but no one has been arrested. At the time, police were informed of a report of a suspicious person in the area.
In the 4400 block of Arcadia Street on Saturday night, a lady shot a guy who she claimed was attempting to break into her house, but the occupant has not been detained.
”Any individuals being shot, regardless of whether it was self-defense that led up to an individual feeling like they needed to defend themselves or an attack on somebody, is not acceptable in this community,” said Foley. ”Certainly we had a couple incidents this weekend that could possibly be self-defense related. Those individuals feeling like they had to defend themselves puts them in a difficult situation when they shouldn’t be there. Those individuals who are victims of gun violence shouldn’t be victims. Those people who were accidentally shot shouldn’t be shot.”
At a Lawrence apartment complex on Lee Road and 56th Street just before dawn on Saturday, one 17-year-old was shot to death and another youngster was injured.
Investigators believe the 15-year-old was shot somewhere, but IMPD officers discovered him shot and hurt in the 1400 block of Brook Pointe Drive early on Sunday morning.
Gunshot wounds are the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers between the ages of one and 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Marion County Public Health Department and Director Dr. Virginia Caine have refused to declare gun violence and violent crime a public health threat in Indianapolis, despite the City-County Council doing so in 2018.
”It could put some credence in what the city is trying to do,” said City-County Councilor Frank Mascari, a Democrat representing Beech Grove.
