Youth Homicides Drop in Indianapolis, But Media Tries to Present a Darker Side

If the “gun homicide” rate, particularly for young victims, were to drop significantly over the last few years, that would be cause for any community to celebrate. The only reason the status quo is good news is if that number was “zero” from the start, which isn’t the case in a larger city like Indianapolis.

However, it seems that the media just can’t take a win.

See, while Indianapolis did, in fact, see a drop in young homicide victims–and there are issues with “young” we’ll get into in a bit–they also have to try and make everything still suck. 

The number of Indianapolis children lost to gun violence dropped dramatically last year, falling from a recent high of 44 to 17 in 2024.

But while homicides declined for those ages 19 and under — many of them students — the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department recorded a 7% increase in the number of non-fatal shootings among kids, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The trend is one that schools and others who work with youth are still trying to navigate.

First, people who are 18- and 19-year-olds aren’t children in any legal sense. They shouldn’t be included in the same set of statistics as 10-year-old children. They’re legal adults who can make decisions for themselves, many of which have decided to become part of criminal subcultures which reduces their life expectancy significantly.

But let’s talk about the increase in non-fatal shootings. 

Seven percent can be significant…or it might not be.

Without anything to compare it to–and the Indianapolis Star doesn’t include any context either–we don’t know if we’re talking about 10,000 shootings or fewer than 20. The upper ends of the scale are such that a seven percent increase is a substantial and genuine cause for worry while the other could just be a statistical outlier based on such a small sample size.

We honestly don’t know.

Strangely, while the piece is about “gun homicides” and “non-fatal shootings,” they may have unintentionally included something that illustrates why I think the inane focus on so-called gun violence is stupid.

The year also ended with the stabbing death of an Arsenal Tech High School student just before winter break. (That homicide is not included in year-end figures because it did not involve a gun.)

“As a mother, as an aunt, as a commissioner, and as a community member, I am heartbroken,” IPS Board President Angelia Moore said at a meeting the day after Arsenal Tech freshman Anabel Trujillo was found dead just a few blocks from school. “And I wanted to just make sure that we use our compassion during the season: Remember those parents who will not be able to hug, correct, redirect, or encourage their loved ones, their students, their children.”

This was a stabbing death. It doesn’t count in any of the statistics that anti-gunners are preoccupied about.

While they’re freaking out about non-fatal shootings, trying desperately to make it out like guns are the problem, a 14-year-old girl was murdered. A 14-year-old boy was charged with the crime.

The issue isn’t guns, it’s kids having no respect for human life and thinking that trying to kill someone is a viable way to express themselves.

It’s not.