INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis has had a violent week that saw IMPD respond to over twenty 911 calls of a person shot.

On Saturday, The Marion County Public Health Department joined the Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis and the Pathway Resource center to host a youth anti-gun violence event.

The event started with a two-mile walk on the far east side that ended at the Pathway Resource Center, which had a large gathering of food trucks and health vendors looking to assist the community.

The event was attended by numerous government officials, including members of the Indianapolis City County Council and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

The event aimed to bring awareness to gun violence amongst youth in Indianapolis.

East side resident Antonia Bailey knows the true pain of gun violence.

WRTV

Bailey’s children, Nicholas and Ashlynn, were killed five-years-ago this week. They were 15 and 16-years-old.

“We’re all one degree away from losing or being associated with gun violence. I never want anyone to ever feel the pain that I feel,” Bailey said.

PREVIOUS | Teenage siblings shot dead in apartment on Indy’s NE side (wrtv.com)

Bailey now works to ensure no other parents feel that pain.

“Our children deserve to be safe, alive and successful in whatever realm that points of being. They deserve to be that,” she said.

It’s an investment city officials hope to make in the 2025 budget.

WATCH | Indy moms talk about National Gun Violence Survivors Week

Indy moms talk about National Gun Violence Survivors Week

“Those investments are being made,” explained City County Counselor Andy Nielsen. “The kind of the year to date that we’ve seen already doesn’t repeat itself next year.”

Bailey hopes the city takes the next step to ensure a safer future.

“Let’s work on being the change that we want to see,” Bailey said.

More than 100 residents joined a peace walk Saturday on the city’s far east side to raise awareness and rally the community against the growing issue of youth gun violence in Indianapolis.

“Our children are hurting,” said Antonia Bailey, one of the participants. “They’re being raised by parents that are hurting and have no clue what to do.”

Bailey knows that pain personally.

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the murder of her 16-year-old son, Nicholas, and 15-year-old daughter, Ashlynn. The two Lawrence North students were shot and killed by another teen in their home as they got ready for school on the morning of Aug. 23, 2019.

“We have to do better as a community with wrapping our arms around our children, because they’re our future,” Bailey told a group of marchers before they set out from the Boys & Girls Club near West 38th Street and North Post Road. “Right now, when I look at it, it looks real bleak. And when I look at our future generation that’s going to be taking over, I have so much hope that it’s not always going to be like this.”

The person who shot her children was himself only a child at the time. He is now serving a 40-year prison sentence.

“I made the decision to forgive and have then spoke life into that young man,” Bailey said.

Although homicide totals have dropped since peaking in 2021, killings of people under the age of 18 have steadily risen in the past few years, according to data from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Indianapolis police investigated 25 homicides during 2023 in which a person 17 years or younger was killed. Speedway and Lawrence police handled three additional youth homicides.

Those who participated in Saturday’s mile-and-a-half peace walk Saturday pledged to push back against that trend.

“Oftentimes, the light in our community flickers because we see so much violence on the television and on the news,” said Pastor Darryl Webster of Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church and the Indianapolis Urban Pastors Coalition. “Today is a great example of the light shining through.”

“The source is deeper than the symptoms and we can’t treat it with just policies alone,” Webster said. “Policies are good, but that ain’t going to treat all of the symptoms. We also need people, and we need the spiritual component.”

A three-wheeled motorcycle group called the Indy 3s led the march. Among the group’s members is Denise Bonds, whose 25-year-old son De’Rell Brown was shot and killed at his apartment complex Jan. 25, 2021. His homicide remains unsolved.

“The hardest part is not having any closure,” said Bonds. Her Spyder motorcycle is covered in photographs of her son, a U.S. Army veteran. The dates of his birth and death are written on her helmet.

“Please think before you pull the trigger,” she said. “Please think of the devastation.”

The walk culminated with a community fair at Pathway Resource Center at Amber Woods Apartments. There were food trucks, a DJ and a bounce house. The fair included workshops on de-escalation, conflict resolution and mental health. Other services such as immunizations and dental care were also provided.

The event was sponsored by state Sen. La Keisha Jackson, who is CEO of Pathway Resource Center, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis, led by City-County Councilor Maggie Lewis. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, Marion County Public Health Department Virginia Caine, Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili and multiple other city councilors also participated.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis will host its Museum by Moonlight Saturday evening. The single-night fundraiser offers guests an opportunity to support future generations in experiencing the museum.

This event is the museum’s biggest fundraiser and helps ensure that future generations can continue to dream and be inspired.

This year’s theme is “Museum Ever After.” Leaders at the museum say they want you to think fairytale-like for the attire. 

“I think people love to come and just be able to explore the museum as an adult, to become a kid again. And really try and embrace the curiosity that just happens here,” Jeannie Infante, vice president of development at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

The doors will open at 7 p.m. with lots of fun to be had. 

“Some aerialist and stilt walkers walking around the museum, the ability for you to come and explore all five floors at the Children’s Museum along with our 7.5-acre sports legends experience,” Infante said.

Along with that, local food vendors and an open bar will be at the museum. Infante says a silent disco, band, and much more will happen throughout the museum. 

The evening allows guests aged 21 and older to celebrate the museum’s nearly 100-year legacy of inspiring moments, joyful discoveries, and fairytale-like wonder.

For more information, click here.