11-year-old shot after a gun was fired in the air

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An 11-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet on the Fourth of July after a gun was fired in the air.

The boy survived the shooting and was discharged from the hospital.

There were still sparklers and fireworks on the ground Friday afternoon at the exact spot where the boy was shot. The boy had just gotten out of a car on Tuxedo Street to visit family when he was shot.

James, who chose only to give News 8 his first name, says his cousin was visiting from Mississippi and trying to enjoy the holiday with family.

“And he had just got there. He wasn’t there for like five minutes,” James said. “He wasn’t standing there for nothing but five minutes. He just pulled up.”

The gun was fired in the air somewhere in the neighborhood before that bullet came down and, family said, struck the child in the back.

“Those bullets come down and it’s disturbing because it’s preventable. It doesn’t have to happen,” said Chief Chris Bailey of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. “That poor kid did not have to be impacted by a bullet yesterday. 100% preventable.”

The boy’s family was disturbed by the careless action.

“I just don’t like the fact that people shot in the air,” James said. “Not being mindful of kids being out here.”

Bailey called the behavior unacceptable in a news conference Friday on the day after the Fourth of July, where he addressed a series of violent crimes on the holiday.

“Unacceptable behavior in this community and any community,” Bailey said.

James called on people to think of their family members when making the choice to fire a gun in the air.

“Just imagine, you feel me, getting a phone call like that about they 11-year-old,” James said.

Neighbors said this was not a surprise.

“I’m not surprised at all. It’s the neighborhood,” said neighbor Michelle Hardcastle. “You go up and down the block and it looks to be a nice quiet neighborhood. And then you know it just depends on the block. This block is good that block’s not.”

The community is ready for people to take accountability for their actions.

“Someone’s reckless behavior, and you know who you are, you’re reckless,” Bailey said. “You have no business owning a gun. You have no business possessing a gun. That’s stupidity.”

“I just hope there’s more safety for the kids around guns,” Hardcastle said.

No word on any leads or arrests in the case.