https://www.foxnews.com/us/indianapolis-police-investigate-mass-murder-inside-house-including-pregnant-woman'We will not stop until anyone complicit with this act of violence is held accountable,' Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said during a news conference Sunday afternoon
By Lucas Manfredi, David Aaro | Fox News
A manhunt was underway early Monday in Indianapolis after six people were killed and another critically injured in what authorities called the largest mass casualty shooting in over a decade.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department received a 911 call just before 4 a.m. Sunday about an individual who was shot on the 3300 block of East 36th Street.
Officers found a boy with a gunshot wound. The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and is expected to survive.
Police directed their attention to a nearby home where they found multiple people with gunshot wounds, including a pregnant woman who was also rushed to a nearby hospital.
Police confirmed the woman, her unborn child, and the other victims inside the house were all pronounced dead.
FOX59 Indianapolis' Lindsey Eaton reported that the Marion County coroner's office has identified the deceased victims as 13-year-old Rita Childs, 18-year-old Elijah Childs, 42-year-old mother Kezzie Childs, 42-year-old father Raymond Childs, as well as, 19-year-old Kiara Hawkins and her unborn baby boy.
"There are no right words to say at this time, a time when our community must come to terms with the largest mass casualty shooting in more than a decade," IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said during the news conference Sunday afternoon.
Taylor said that police believe the victims were targeted by one or more people. No motive or information on the suspects has been released.
Sergeant Shane Foley added that the incident "does not appear to be a random act" and that an investigation into the incident is ongoing, with detectives active on scene canvassing the area for witnesses or anyone with more information.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said police will have the support of federal authorities. .
"I want those responsible to know that the full might of local, state, and federal law enforcement are coming for them as I speak," said Hogsett. "Coming for them today, coming for them tonight, coming for them tomorrow, and the day after that. Coming for them as long as it takes to find them. And we will not stop there."
Hogsett said it was not a "simple act of gun violence."
"What happened this morning was a mass murder," he said. "A choice of an individual or individuals to bring, and I do not use these words lightly-- terror to our community."
Police will determine whether firearms involved in the incident were illegally possessed. They will also identify anyone responsible for providing them, as well as, anyone that has or chooses to aid and abet the individual or individuals involved.
The incident occurred after the city recorded the most violent year in its history, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Shardae Hoskins, a member of the police department's Violence Reduction Team told the paper that Indianapolis has to change how people handle conflict, while also fixing issues of poverty that lead to many of the crimes.
"For a decade now, the city of Indianapolis has engaged in a community conversation as to how we should best address the deadly confluence of guns, substance abuse, and poverty that has seen our city's homicide rate rise to historic highs," Hogsett said.
However, the mayor said what occurred on Sunday was fundamentally different compared to what the city has been experiencing as of late.
"Not that any crime of gun violence is acceptable under any circumstance, but when it is a crime of passion or retaliation, that is one thing," Hogsett continued. "It is a completely different thing for a trigger puller, or perhaps several trigger pullers, to walk into one home and kill six people. And that is why we're here today."
Taylor called the shooting a "different kind of evil."
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS (8477) or the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
