Indy inches closer to 200 homicides
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police are investigating several deaths after another violent weekend in Indianapolis left eight people dead in just three days. Four of the deaths are considered homicides, and four are currently labeled as “death investigations.” So far this year, 198 people have been murdered in Indy.
Police are finding it harder to process the pain. IMPD Public Information Officer William Young said that combating crime has been a challenge.
“It’s very concerning to us. Every man and woman on this department, we deal with this daily,” said Young.
While Young said there isn’t just one solution to solving the issue, he believes getting the community to work together is an important step.
At the same time police were investigating a deadly shooting at the KFC/Taco Bell on North Meridian Street on Sunday, several community members gathered to speak out against gun violence.
The event was hosted by Purpose 4 My Pain, an organization founded by DeAndra Yates, in honor of her son who was seriously injured in a shooting. Yates’s son Dre is now in a wheelchair and unable to take care of himself.
Sunday was his 21st birthday and the seventh annual “Pray 4 Dre Play 4 Dre” celebration. Several groups against gun violence were at the event, including Siblings Changing and Restoring Society (SCARS).
Members Ashlynne Stokes and Syreeta Adams both lost siblings to gun violence, and now they’re working to make sure other families have an outlet to deal with their grief.
“If you don’t get that support and that help and that healing when you need it, you don’t have that compassion for the next person,” said Stokes.
“Kind of nip in the bud before it escalates, you know, cause it takes a village and … we have to keep our kids safe,” said Adams.
The pair said that, in their experience, people who don’t get help after losing a loved one often find ways to retaliate. The two believe their work can help break that cycle.
The SCARS group meets bimonthly. Their next meeting is on Tuesday.
