Mother searching for answers after son's death

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A mother is searching for answers, after her 23-year-old son was shot, then left inside a truck that was set on fire.

Firefighters found the body of 23-year-old James Shaw after putting out a fire in his burned-out pickup truck Monday night. It happened in the 3700 block of North LaSalle.

The Marion County Coroner determined Shaw died of multiple gun shot wounds .

“That's my oldest son, and I just can't handle it,” Geneva Shaw, James Shaw’s mother, told 24-Hour News 8. “I don't know what I’m going to do. I really don't. They just took his life away from him. ”

“We are all wondering, why?” said James’ cousin Natalie Johnson. “We are all looking for an answer. ”

Police say they’re just beginning the investigation, but a police report reveals firefighters saw a black man running from the scene.

Shaw’s mother had called police Monday as well, believing Shaw had been kidnapped for ransom.

“There were some phone calls made to one of his family members about a ransom,” said Geneva Shaw.

She says she has no idea who killed her son, but she’s hoping to find out why.

“He didn’t have any enemies, that’s just it,” she added.

IMPD says James Shaw did have a criminal past. He had been arrested on marijuana charges, domestic battery, and invasion of privacy.