INDIANAPOLIS — MLK Center Executive Director Allison Luthe grew weary of grants being doled out to groups with good intentions of curbing youth violence but too often not taking into account what it was the juveniles needed to face the challenges of growing up in Indianapolis.
”We wanted to hear directly from them,” Luthe said. “No one was asking them or there might be a youth panel but there weren’t young people who had had gun convictions or gun charges. I think it’s important to go straight to the people who are carrying guns.”
Teaming up with Crispus Attucks Sophomore DeCaree Lewis, Luthe sought out teenagers who had been through the Marion County juvenile justice system and faced firearm charges. Lewis and Luthe hoped to capture the teens’ thoughts on what it was like to be young, scared and carrying a gun.
”Sometimes, they pick them up to go do something with them, they’re afraid, they wanna be a show-off for social media sometimes,” said Lewis, who shot the 10-minute long documentary, “Talking Guns Project,” on his cell phone. ”Some things like social media, some things like school fights, there’s robberies going on, people with drama, it’s just a lot drama and people go pick up guns my age and they make a bad choice.”
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told FOX59 and CBS4 that his staff has filed, on average, more than one gun charge per day since the start of 2023 against Indianapolis children usually caught with firearms.
Through last week, IMPD had investigated 72 shootings of children in the city, five of them fatal, not including accidental and self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Juveniles make up about 10% of all non-fatal shooting victims in Indianapolis, and gunshot wounds are listed as the leading killer of Americans between the ages of one and 19 years old.
”A number of the young people that we interviewed were not living with their parents,” said Luthe. “They were living with grandparents or friends or siblings, so something had happened whether their parents passed away or their parents were incarcerated so their support system already they had to build a new support system in their life.
”They said they weren’t really sure what was gonna happen, so you don’t necessarily pick up a weapon to do something with it, but you don’t know when you’re gonna have to defend yourself, and that’s the environment.”
Lewis said he’s already lost five friends to gun violence.
”Just like shootings every day, they see them every day, everything with guns is hurting them, they just see it every day,” Lewis said. “And I feel like I can understand them on that.”
“Talking Guns Project” will premiere at the Butler University College of Education at 5 p.m. Thursday.
”It’s really designed to reach probation officers and juvenile court judges, the Office of Public Health and Safety,” said Luthe, “and those folks have fortunately RSVP’d so we look forward to showing it to them and getting their response.”
