5 People, Unborn Child Killed in Indianapolis Mass Murder

Police say it was the city's worst mass shooting in more than a decade
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2021 12:30 AM CST
5 People, Unborn Child Killed in 'Act of Evil'
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers work the scene Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021 in Indianapolis where five people, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death early Sunday.   (Justin L. Mack/The Indianapolis Star via AP)

Indianapolis has been shaken by what police say was the city's biggest mass casualty shooting in more than a decade. Police say five people and an unborn child were shot dead early Sunday in a home in the northeast of the city, the Indianapolis Star reports. Sgt. Shane Foley with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says that after officers were called to a report of a person shot around 4am, they found an injured male juvenile and received information that led them to the home where the five victims had been fatally shot, reports the AP. The injured boy is expected to survive. Police say they have not identified a motive or determined how many shooters were involved, but they do not believe the shooting was random.

"This morning, one or more individuals perpetrated an act of evil in our city," Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Sunday. "While we're still learning more about the circumstances that led to this incident, I want to be very clear about something, what happened this morning was not an act of simple gun violence. As tragic as a simple act of gun violence is, what happened this morning was a mass murder." The mayor said he wants the shooter or shooters to know that the "full might of local, state and federal law enforcement are (sic) coming for them." WRTV reports that the coroner's office has identified the victims as Kezzie Childs and Raymond Childs Jr., both 42; Elijah Childs, 18; Rita Childs, 13; Kiara Hawkins, 19; and Hawkins' unborn baby. (More Indianapolis stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X