Teen Arrested After Six People Shot Dead in Indianapolis, Including Unborn Child

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a mass murder in Indianapolis.

Four members of one family, as well as a pregnant woman and her unborn child, were all found shot dead at a home on Adams Street in what police described as “largest mass casualty shooting” in the city in more than a decade.

Officers from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department North District made the gristly discovery after responding to reports of a shooting around 4 AM on Sunday morning.

Near the scene they found a juvenile male suffering from gunshot wounds; he was taken to hospital and is expected to survive his injuries.

But the people inside the home were not so lucky: 42-year-old Kezzie Childs, 42-year-old Raymond Childs, 18-year-old Elijah Childs and 13-year-old Rita Childs were all found dead.

Pregnant 19-year-old Kiara Hawkins was also found with fatal gunshot wounds; she was rushed to hospital but despite the best life-saving efforts, neither she nor “Baby Boy Hawkins” survived, police confirmed.

As a manhunt got underway, investigators indicated that the attack was targeted, and did not appear to be random.

“What we saw this morning was a different kind of evil,” IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said at a news conference after the shooting. “What happened this morning, based on the evidence that’s been gathered so far, was mass murder.”

On Monday, detectives arrested a 17-year-old male, the lone suspect in all six deaths. Because of his age, police have not yet identified him, but he is not the same juvenile who survived the shooting.

Police have not clarified the relationships between the family, the pregnant victim, the lone survivor or the suspect.

Devastated neighbors told reporters that Hawkins was due to give birth next month.

“Yesterday, we promised swift justice for this heinous act. Today, we delivered on that promise,” Chief Taylor said in a statement.

“While removing the alleged perpetrator of yesterday’s mass murder from our neighborhoods does not bring back the lives senselessly lost, hopefully, it will bring us one step closer to healing as a community.”

He added: “I am grateful to all of the IMPD officers and criminal justice partners who have worked tirelessly for the last 30 plus hours to bring justice for these victims, their friends and families, and our entire community. I ask community members to join me in praying for the continued recovery of the young man whose life has been forever changed.”