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Teen Accused Of Massacring Family Was Reportedly Angry About Being Reprimanded For Leaving Home Without Permission
The suspect's brother, who was also wounded but managed to escape the family's Indianapolis home, told police a family dispute triggered the violence.
An Indianapolis teen accused of fatally shooting his parents, two siblings and a pregnant woman in the family's home had been angry about being reprimanded for leaving the house without permission, his brother, also wounded in the attack, told police.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police announced the arrest Monday of a 17-year-old suspect in the mass murder of five people. Kezzie and Raymond Childs, both 42, their 18-year-old son Elijah and their 13-year-old daughter Rita were found dead in the family’s home early Sunday morning in the 3500 block of North Adams Street. Also dead was 19-year-old Kiara Hawkins, who had been pregnant with Elijah’s unborn child described by police as “Baby Boy Hawkins,” WISH-TV reports.
Authorities declined to release any identifying information about the suspect in the slayings; however, a police report obtained by local station WXIN reveals new details about the shocking murders.
Police were dispatched Sunday morning just before 4 a.m. to the 3300 block of E. 36th Street after receiving a report of a person being shot and discovered a juvenile male with “apparent gunshot wounds.”
The boy told police that his older brother had shot his family, directing officers to their Adams Street home where they discovered the five bodies, according to the police report.
Hawkins was quickly transported to a local hospital but “despite the best life-saving efforts by medical staff, both the female and the unborn child did not survive,” authorities said.
The surviving victim, who has not been identified, told police after arriving at the emergency room that his older brother had shot everyone in his home, according to the police report.
He said the 17-year-old had been upset about being reprimanded by his father for leaving the home without permission.
A short time later, the boy said he heard gunfire upstairs and his sister yelling “He shot them,” before the sound of more gunfire erupted, the report states.
He saw his brother come “down the stairs with a draco gun, a handgun that shoots rifle rounds” and he “started shooting,” according to the report.
The boy told police he ran out a side door of the house but his older brother chased after him, shooting at him.
Chris Bailey, IMPD assistant chief, told the news outlet that the boy suffered “some significant gunshot wounds” but was still able to point officers in the direction of his home.
“I can’t imagine the horrific nature of what they had to see yesterday,” Bailey said of the officers who arrived at the gruesome scene.
The 17-year-old suspect was arrested Monday in Plainfield.
“Yesterday, we promised swift justice for this heinous act. Today, we delivered on that promise,” Chief Randal Taylor said in the statement announcing the arrest. “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.”
Police believe he acted alone.
Michael Leffler, communication director for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Oxygen.com that the juvenile had been taken into custody but declined to provide any additional details about the case.
Leffler said prosecutors will likely reach a charging determination in the case later this week.
