INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — Police say a 17-year-old suspect was arrested Monday in the deaths of six people after a shooting in Indianapolis.
Police were originally called around 3:45 a.m. to a location where a juvenile was found suffering from a gunshot wound. The juvenile was taken in critical condition to a hospital but is expected to survive, police said.
After further investigation into the juvenile’s shooting, police were dispatched to a nearby home where they discovered multiple people shot and killed, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
The victims have been identified as: 42-year-old Kezzie Childs, 42-year-old Raymond Childs, 18-year-old Elijah Childs, 13-year-old Rita Childs, 19-year-old Kiara Hawkins, and Baby Boy Hawkins, the unborn child of Kiara Hawkins.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, the name and photo are not being released at this time. That may change if the suspect is waived to adult court. The suspect is said to be a member of the family.
Both Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randall Taylor referred to the incident as a “mass murder.”
“While removing the alleged perpetrator of yesterday’s mass murder from our neighborhoods does not bring back the lives senselessly lost, hopefully, it will bring us one step closer to healing as a community,” said Taylor. “I ask community members to join me in praying for the continued recovery of the young man whose life has been forever changed.”
Police do not think any additional suspects are at large.
Mayor Hogsett issued this statement following the announcement of the arrest:
“Today’s announcement is the first step toward justice for the senseless acts that cut short the lives of six of our neighbors in the early hours of Sunday morning. While nothing can bring back the Childs family, I hope that the swift action of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department offers some comfort to all of those who have been left to grapple with this tragic loss. My thanks go to the men and women of IMPD whose thoughtful investigative work led to the arrest of the suspect, and my prayers are with the family, friends, and community impacted by this devastating act of violence.”
