Youth violence … all our problem

I recently was sent a disturbing video of a teenager being knocked to the ground by another teen on a Saturday night in downtown Indianapolis. Several teens then surrounded the child — and yes, most teens are still children developmentally and legally — and repeatedly kicked and punched him as he wrapped his arms around his head for protection. Others in the crowd pulled out their phones to record this scene of casual violence in the heart of our city. And yet this brutal assault wasn’t close to being the worst youth-on-youth violence in downtown that night. Police say a 17-year-old was involved in the shooting of seven other young people — the youngest victim was only 12 years old and the oldest was 16 — at about 11:30 p.m. March 30, only a block or so from the Indiana Convention Center. By May 1, the city had witnessed at least 16 shootings this year involving our children as victims or assailants — and often, both. As a pastor and ministry leader with more than 28 years of experience living and working on the near Eastside of our city, I’ve seen a sickening number of young lives ended by violence....