Police in Indianapolis, Indiana say they arrested the person behind the mass murder at a local home. The suspect is a juvenile, authorities said Monday.
The defendant’s name and photo were not being released because of their age. As far as authorities are concerned, however, this is pretty much the end of the beginning of the case: They don’t believe anyone else was involved.
What remains unclear is why it all happened in the first place. Police said that officers found a juvenile male suffering from gunshot wounds on the 3300 block of E. 36th Street. He is expected to survive. (In a phone interview, The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department clarified for Law&Crime that he is a different person from the defendant.)
Officers later discovered the murder scene at the 3500 block of Adams Street. There, they found found five people dead: Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Kiara Hawkins, 19, Elijah Childs, 18, and Rita Childs, 13. Investigators also learned Kiara was pregnant. The unborn child, who officers identified as “Baby Boy Hawkins,” did not survive either.
In a press conference on Sunday, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett (D) called the shooting an “act of evil.” Police Chief Randal Taylor said that police believed the incident was not random.
“Yesterday, we promised swift justice for this heinous act. Today, we delivered on that promise,” said Taylor on Monday. “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. I am grateful to all of the IMPD officers and criminal justice partners who have worked tirelessly for the last 30 plus hours to bring justice for these victims, their friends and families, and our entire community. I ask community members to join me in praying for the continued recovery of the young man whose life has been forever changed.”
[Screengrab via WRTV]
