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This article was co-reported by Chalkbeat Indiana and Axios Indianapolis as part of a reporting partnership about youth gun violence in Indianapolis.
The number of Indianapolis children lost to gun violence dropped dramatically last year, falling from a recent high of 44 to 17 in 2024.
But while homicides declined for those ages 19 and under — many of them students — the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department recorded a 7% increase in the number of non-fatal shootings among kids, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The trend is one that schools and others who work with youth are still trying to navigate.
Homicide levels dropped simply because kids don’t know how to shoot, said Kareem Hines, founder of the New BOY program that works with young men involved in the justice system. The youth violence situation, he said, is still dire.
“These kids, they’re not shooting to hurt each other, I know that they’re shooting to kill,” he said. “It’s just fortunate that those non-fatal shootings weren’t fatal.”
Last year’s non-fatal shootings included a mass shooting downtown in which seven children were wounded. That incident prompted the city to enforce a curfew for minors — although in the first four months, officers picked up just three kids for violating it.
The year also ended with the stabbing death of an Arsenal Tech High School student just before winter break. (That homicide is not included in year-end figures because it did not involve a gun.)
“As a mother, as an aunt, as a commissioner, and as a community member, I am heartbroken,” IPS Board President Angelia Moore said at a meeting the day after Arsenal Tech freshman Anabel Trujillo was found dead just a few blocks from school. “And I wanted to just make sure that we use our compassion during the season: Remember those parents who will not be able to hug, correct, redirect, or encourage their loved ones, their students, their children.”
Rise in non-fatal shootings among youth is historic
Lauren Magee, assistant professor with the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Indianapolis, has been tracking non-fatal shootings since 2016.
The number of non-fatal shootings among young people has increased since then, according to Magee. She also found that homicide rates among minors in Indianapolis tripled from 2016 to 2023 — and for every homicide, there were three to four non-fatal shootings.
Ralph Durrett Jr., the city’s chief violence prevention officer who started in the role last June, said much of his first few months on the job has been spent connecting with those already working on youth violence.
Some of the city’s best assets, he said, are mentoring programs that work with at-risk youth to teach them skills like conflict resolution and emotional intelligence. But that can’t be the only piece.
“If we’re not focusing in on the environments and the culture that they come from, then we’re missing a primary piece,” said Durrett Jr.
Deandra Staples was the first Indianapolis child lost to gun violence this year when the 14-year-old was found in the snow outside an apartment complex on the city’s southeast side on Jan. 11, according to Fox 59.
Read the Axios Indianapolis story here.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
