Ceasefire Indy cut short; organizers celebrate 49-hour cease-fire

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A planned 72-hour cease-fire was cut short this weekend after a report of a domestic violence. But organizers say there’s still reason to celebrate the effort.

The group Unity Indy City called for the 72-hour cease-fire — called “Ceasefire Indy” — over the weekend. Although it lasted just 49 hours, they’re hopeful their signs out on the streets as well as group gatherings helped prevent crimes.

According to police, so far this year, there’s been 232 homicides in Indianapolis compared to 203 this time last year.

“Violence has continued to surge over the past five to seven years, and, quite frankly, there’s no sign of that slowing down right now,” said Indy Ceasefire Co-organizer Ron Gee.

The group held several community events, like a basketball tournament at JTV Hill Center. They also met at Frederick Douglass Park to create posters and have discussions on how to approach a situation without hate.

“As I rode through the city checking on each spot, I see so many kids out on the corner saying, ‘Stop the violence, stop the violence, stop the violence,’ and hearing all the honks throughout the city — it was amazing for us,” Gee said.

Even though residents are making their best effort to curb crime, the president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of the Police, Rick Snyder, says the criminal justice system also needs to change.

“There’s opportunities for us to intervene and to interrupt these cycles of violence through the criminal justice system, and we need our partners in that system — the prosecutor and the courts — to do their part to help provide that intervention,” Snyder said.