Latino leaders shine light on people who died in Greenwood Park Mall shooting
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — The Latino community in central Indiana is expressing concern about Sunday’s mass shooting at Greenwood Park Mall.
A husband, his wife and another man died, and Elisjsha Dicken, 22, fired his Glock handgun 10 times to take out the 20-year-old shooter before more people were hurt, the Greenwood police chief said Monday. The three Indianapolis residents who died were Pedro Pineda, 56; Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37; and Victor Gomez, 30. Greenwood police say they’ve received no information that leads to a motive for the shooting.
Dozens of Latino organizations have denounced the crime while hoping to shine light on the people who died rather than the suspect.
Greenwood Park Mall sits in a culturally diverse part of central Indiana, and, advocates say, the Latino community makes up a huge portion of the visiting demographic. The advocates also say this latest act of violence adds more fear to a community that often feels targeted.
Doneisha Posey, a member of the Indiana Latino Expo board, said Tuesday, “I think it’s very important that the entire community embraces the Latino community at this moment, where three Latinos were killed in a senseless horrific tragedy.”
Latinos in every part of Indiana are calling for more attention to who it happened.
Eduardo Luna with Arte Mexicano en Indiana, an organization that works to bridge communities through art, said Tuesday, “The media and the politician should focus more on our communities and trying to figure out why this happens to us, why this happened to Indiana.”
“Why do I always have to worry about looking over my back? Why can’t I go to an establishment,” Luna said.
Roughly a dozen Latino-based organizations have released statements and shared their thoughts since the shooting.
Gloria Jimenez, executive director of Indiana Latino Expo, said, “A lot of people that live in the south area, and Hispanics, Spanish community they tend to shop more. They go to the mall. That is their going out on Sundays.”
“I think we should I have a little bit more empathy,” Jimenez said.
Latino leaders hope to bring attention to what they believe was a targeted attack while also doing what they can to assure the three people who died are not forgotten.
Advocates say, many Latinos moved to Indiana to escape violence and poverty. And it’s heart breaking to see those same fears right now. And it’s going to take the entire broader community to bring about healing.
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Mental health resources
- Be Well Indiana
- Indiana Suicide Prevention
- Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
- More resources