(CNN)Police are searching for a suspect in a shooting outside of a funeral home in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday that left at least five people wounded, including a 4-year-old girl.
Officers responded to a report of someone being shot in the 1100 block of West 30th Street, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Public Information Officer Genae Cook said at a press conference. Upon arrival, officers immediately located at least three people with gunshot wounds.The 4-year-old girl was taken to Riley Hospital for Children and remains in critical condition, Cook said, while a 16-year-old girl was transported to Eskenazi Hospital and is in stable condition.An adult male was taken to St. Vincent Hospital and is in stable condition, according to Cook.Two more people walked into IU Health Methodist Hospital within moments of each other with gunshot wounds, Cook said.
“We believe that both of those people were involved, or were here at the scene at one point or another,” she added.
Cook said a preliminary investigation found that an unknown male got out of a vehicle and approached another vehicle that was parked in the parking lot next to the funeral home. A verbal altercation ensued, at which point the unknown male began firing shots throughout the parking lot.
The male left the area before police officers arrived.
It is believed that one or two of the shooting victims were from inside the funeral home and that the altercation occurred with someone from inside the funeral home, according to Cook, What each person’s role was in the incident has yet to be determined.
“We need to think about our actions, think about what we do,” Cook said. “Pulling a weapon is no way to solve a problem”
“This afternoon our community witnessed yet another violent incident, this time with multiple victims including a young child,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement on Twitter. “Tonight our thoughts are with all those impacted, including those injured in the shooting, their families, and a neighborhood scarred by a cowardly act.”
“Far too many residents have borne the consequences of the combination of firearms and failed conflict resolution and I join a frustrated community in calling for an end to this cycle of violence,” he continued.
Indianapolis shooting: Five people including a pregnant woman killed in city’s ‘largest mass casualty shooting’ in more than a decade – CNN
(CNN)Five people and an unborn child were killed Sunday after an early-morning shooting in Indianapolis’ northeast side, police said — an incident the mayor called “a mass murder.”
A juvenile was also in critical condition after being shot in the incident, which marks Indianapolis’ “largest mass casualty shooting in more than a decade,” according to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Randal Taylor.IMPD police officers responded to a report of a person shot just before 4 a.m. Upon arrival, police came across “a juvenile male with apparent gunshot wounds,” IMPD spokesman Shane Foley told reporters.Officers then received information that led them to another residence less than a block away, where they found five people — including a pregnant woman — dead with “apparent gunshot wounds,” Foley said.”
Despite the best lifesaving efforts provided by medical staff, both the female and the unborn child did not survive,” he added. “The juvenile male that was shot is expected to survive his injuries.”
Marion County chief deputy coroner Alfarena McGinty identified the victims as Kezzie Childs, 42; Raymond Childs, 42; Elijah Childs, 18; Rita Childs, 13; Kiara Hawkins, 19; and Hawkins’ baby.
While IMPD’s investigation is in its early stages, Foley said the multiple shooting “does not appear to be a random act.”
As of Sunday afternoon, police said they did not have any named suspects related to the shootings, but that they believed more than one shooter could have been involved.