Dad and 14-year-old son charged after 9-year-old shoots 12-year-old brother
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A man and a 14-year-old face charges in Marion County after police say a 12-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the leg by his 9-year-old brother while playing Xbox.
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Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded around noon Wednesday to a shooting in the 3700 block of Fetlock Drive. That is a residential area near East Hanna Avenue and South Rural Street on the city’s southeast side.
Neighbor Joann Perez said, “I just think it’s crazy, and obviously we don’t want that to happen to anyone else, so please keep weapons in a safe place away from children, and I don’t think children and youth should have exposure to that type of stuff.”
Perez says she hopes parents take advantage of local resources and that they know they’re not alone. “There are always resources, like plenty of resources and people that we can reach out to that can help us because it takes a village to create children and raise them up to be good people.”
According to court documents, the 12-year-old told police he was “sitting in a chair playing Xbox when he suddenly realized he had been shot in the left leg.”
Officers saw that the boy had been shot in the upper left thigh. He was stable when taken to a hospital in serious condition.
Court papers said that the 12-year-old identified his 9-year-old brother as the shooter.
A police report says the gun belonged to a 14-year-old boy, who prosecutors say shared a bedroom with the 12-year-old.
According to prosecutors, an IMPD officer overheard the boy’s father, 50-year-old Demarcus Jackson, telling someone on the phone, “I told (the 14-year-old) to get rid of the firearm a week ago.”
A short time later, police heard Jackson yelling at the 14-year-old about having the gun inside the house.
Court papers say the gun was found in the closet shared by the 12-year-old and the 14-year-old. The gun had an extended magazine with 21 live rounds of ammunition.
IMPD Chief Tanya Terry said four teens were arrested in the last month for murder, and multiple youths were arrested for serious felonies, many of which involved firearms. She says bringing those numbers down starts at home. “Parenting is not passive. You don’t get to say, ‘Oh my kid is a teenager. They’re off doing God knows what.’ It’s your job, it’s your responsibility to know what that is. Be nosy. Be active. Be involved. Ask questions.”
“If a parent knows their child has access to a gun and they do nothing about it, they will be held accountable.”
For parents seeking resources, the nonprofit Let Them Talk will host a Safe Summer event Friday to help people provide alternatives to violence on weekends. Co-founder Daniel Mills said, “We’re going to be active in what we’re creating for our next generation. Our kids are going to be learning about things like peer pressure. We’re going to learn about gun violence, but also we’re going to learn about conflict resolution, problem solving, awareness, because a lot of these problems are stemming from the issues we have with one another.”
Jackson and the 14-year-old were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the shooting. Jackson was charged with a misdemeanor count of child neglect. Online inmate records show that Jackson remains in custody on Thursday. He is due in court on June 18.
The 14-year-old, who authorities have not publicly named due to his age, faces a preliminary charge of possession of a firearm by a minor. The 14-year-old was taken to the county’s juvenile detention center.
