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Downtown Indianapolis mass shooting was planned, IMPD chief says

Downtown Indianapolis mass shooting was planned, IMPD chief says

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says Saturday night’s mass shooting in downtown that injured seven children from ages 12-17 was a planned event.

IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said Monday, “It wasn’t a random type of thing. There was an ongoing beef. They brought that beef downtown, and, earlier in that day, we believe that’s when the planning took place.”

Officers just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday were patrolling downtown when they heard shots being fired near the intersection of Illinois and West Maryland streets. That’s outside Circle Centre mall.

None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, IMPD said Monday. The mass shooting injured two 16-year-old boys, one 16-year-old girl, three 14-year-old girls, and a 12-year-old male.

Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett said Monday, “What is a 12-year-old doing in downtown Indianapolis after midnight on a weekend, unattended, and unsupervised?”

As of late Monday afternoon, IMPD has not arrested any suspects connected to the shooting. Detectives were combing through a mound of surveillance footage to identify who fired the shots. Police believe multiple shooters were involved. Two juveniles were arrested for resisting law enforcement, but IMPD did not say if they were connected to the shooting in any way. 

The police chief said, “We will continue to look at all the video that’s available in downtown, which is a lot. Whether we can ascertain exactly who or what from that video is still yet to be determined.”

The Rev. Charles Harrison is a community leader and the president of the Ten Point Coalition, which is a social services organization designed to provide peacekeepers. Harrison said Monday that a lack of adult supervision is to blame for the mass shooting,

Harrison said, “We have to look at parenting. If parents are not going to be responsible for their children, then maybe we need to look at holding some parents accountable,”

Bailey said they’re already exploring those options with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, lead by Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

The police chief said Monday, “Prosecutor Mears and I have had conversations today, and we’re looking at all avenues of the law to see what we can and can’t do to hold adults accountable for the actions of their children.”

Hogsett said his office will announce later this week a plan to prevent future mass shootings in the downtown.

Saturday night’s mass shooting — with four or more people killed or hurt — was the third in Indianapolis in three weeks.

Anyone with information about this incident was asked to contact Det. Albert Teaters at the IMPD Homicide Office at 3170-327-3475 or e-mail him at Albert.Teaters@indy.gov.

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