(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says his “heart goes out” to families touched by violence over the Fourth of July weekend, but says he sees signs of progress.
In the early morning hours after the Fourth of July, one person was killed and six wounded in a half-dozen separate shootings around the city. That came hours after two preteen children were wounded while playing in a bounce house at a community Fourth of July celebration, an incident Hogsett calls “extraordinarily tragic” and “unacceptable.”
But Hogsett says the continuing drumbeat of violence shouldn’t obscure signs of progress. Indy is on pace for its fewest homicides in three years, though at the current rate, the city would still surpass 200 killings for a third year in a row. Hogsett says he believes anti-crime measures are starting to have an effect, including plans to spend more than 50-million dollars for mental health, community crime prevention grants, and police technology.
Hogsett emphasizes he’s not declaring victory, and says the city needs to remain vigilant. But he says the decline offers a sign of hope the city is turning a corner.
Hogsett adds it’s “incredibly frustrating” that one potential crime-reduction tool is unavailable to him and other mayors. State law prohibits local gun ordinances, a ban Hogsett says legislators should reconsider.
The mayor will announce the latest round of community crime prevention grants on Tuesday.
