INDIANAPOLIS -- It’s the age of the “little shooter,” says an Indianapolis pastor sick of all the violence being perpetrated against, and by, youths.
Indianapolis police arrested a 15-year-old on Tuesday they say is behind a fatal triple-shooting on the northeast side Sunday.
The teen’s identity hasn’t yet been released, but Pastor James Jackson says he wasn’t surprised to hear the suspect’s age.
MORE | IMPD arrests 15-year-old in connection with triple homicide
Jackson says on the streets, gun-toting kids are called “little shooters.”
“A lot of the older criminals will use younger people to do the shootings for them. It just becomes their job – to kill people, if necessary. Although you may see in the stats that only a few were charged, that doesn’t mean more aren’t out there shooting and wounding people.”
The statistics agree with Jackson. Since 2013, IMPD has reported a 70-percent increase in suspects under the age of 18 carrying guns.
And while juvenile suspects remain only a fraction of overall homicide cases (out of 367 criminal homicides reported between Jan. 1, 2015, and July 17, 2017, only 15, or 4 percent, saw a juvenile charged with murder), the city has still managed a half-dozen youth murder suspects over the past few years.
MAP | 2017 Indianapolis Homicides
In 2015, seven people under the age of 18 were charged with murder, including 16-year-old Christian Qualls, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Last year, six people under 18 were charged with murder. Of those cases, all but one remain pending.
At least two juvenile suspects have been charged with murder this year prior to Tuesday’s arrest: 17-year-old Lesley Mena and 16-year-old Ahmond Hubbard.
For Jackson, who ministers to youth through his Fervent Prayer Church, Tuesday’s arrest was evidence of lost ground – but not a lost fight.
“I don’t think we’re losing the battle, but we’ve lost some young people and we’ll probably lose some more,” Jackson said. “The problem is so deep. You’re talking about three decades of failure for these young people on the side of the community.”
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