INDIANAPOLIS — In the first six months of 2022, more than 100 people have lost their lives at the hands of another person across Indianapolis.
At least nine victims, or about 8% of all victims this year, are under the age of 18, according to information provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).
“It’s tragic anytime somebody dies, but it’s tragic particularly when you have such youth — young minds being taken unnecessarily and tragically in our community,” said Kendale Adams, Deputy Chief of IMPD’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Two of the juvenile victims killed in 2022 were less than 1-years-old and died from blunt force trauma, homicide records show.
Seven other juvenile victims, between the ages of 14 and 17, died from gunshot injuries, including 16-year-old Michael Duerson. The teen lost his life in a shooting on April 10 in the 5600 block of East 30th Street.
“He was a really supportive child for anything that you were going through, good or bad. He was a good friend to have and a good child to have,” said Michael’s mother, Antionette Lanier. “He pretty much trusted everybody, which was a gift and a curse.”
It’s been almost three months since Michael was shot to death and his mother is still hoping every day that someone will be arrested and charged in her son’s killing.
“It’s hard to register, very hard to process. It’s definitely a hard pill to swallow. He’s just a child,” Lanier said.
Lanier knows closure doesn’t exist for families who lose a child or loved one in the way she did, but said an arrest would give her family answers as to who took her only son’s life.
“That took a big part of me. That took a big piece from me,” said Lanier. “It’s not fair that I have to go spend every Sunday at Crown Hill and talk to my son, but I can’t get a response back.”
She also hopes that people will speak up for the other victims, who no longer have a voice to do that.
“My son lost his life to a senseless murder and if it was anybody else’s child, they would want someone to do the same,” said Lanier.
IMPD records show all nine juvenile homicide cases from 2022 remain unsolved, with no arrests made.
Police have seen a recent, encouraging trend in help from the community that’s played a role in homicide arrests, and said they need that to continue so they can help seek justice for even more victims of all ages.
“I am encouraged this year by the cooperation we have seen in terms of community members coming forward. I think what that’s telling me is the community members are just fed up,” said Adams.
He knows there is still work to do and said part of that is convincing community members to work with police to share information and evidence to hopefully make even more progress in solving cases when a crime occurs.
“These families that their youth have been taken from them, they deserve justice and if there are people in this community or in communities that know, that refuse to cooperate, it’s going to make it very difficult to identify a suspect,” said Adams.
Generically speaking, in some cases, investigators may already have an idea of a person or persons involved in a crime, but without sufficient evidence that can prove someone’s involvement beyond reasonable doubt, it makes the job of investigators all that more difficult to present a case for prosecution.
“In society today, we have to have that additional context to solve these cases, whether it’s a juvenile or it’s an adult, when people refuse to cooperate and come forward, it makes it difficult,” said Adams. “However, I understand that challenge folks living in these communities have to deal with.”
“A lot of these cases go to trial and when you’re sitting in front of a…
Read More: 2022 juvenile homicide cases in Indy still unsolved, records show