INDIANAPOLIS — Community and faith leaders say enough is enough following another homicide on Indy’s east side.
With the city continuing on a record pace for murders, a new plan for action will be unveiled in the next two days. This weekend community and faith leaders are going to get together in the old Value City parking lot at 38th and Arlington.
Their call for action and change will take place just a few feet away from where 16-year-old Nya Cope was shot and killed by a stray bullet riding in her mom’s car. It’s also less than a mile from where another man was shot and killed Thursday night.
Police were called to north Graham Avenue on Thursday and found a man shot dead inside a parked car.
“My heart aches,” said Nikki Cope. “Something needs to be done about this.”
Cope doesn’t know the man killed on Graham, but that murder took place just half a mile away from 38th and Arlington, where someone fired a shot into Nikki’s car killing her daughter Nya in early May.
Nikki spoke about her daughter’s death just last week and prayed for justice and an end to the city’s near constant violence.
“Someone needs to come forward in these situations. I know someone knows what’s happened,” said Cope.
Nya’s death and the murder on Graham are just two of the 114 homicides the city has seen this year, which marks a dramatic increase over last year when there were 80 homicides on the same date.
“Everybody is really stunned by the numbers. It’s something none of us has seen before,” said reverend Charles Harrison with Indy Ten Point.
A map pinpointing the homicides around Indianapolis in 2020 shows that within just over one mile surrounding the killing on Graham there have now been nine homicides.
That’s why this weekend a large group of community and faith leaders plan to gather in that area to announce five initiatives that residents, grassroots groups, police and clergy can do to slow the record-breaking violence numbers.
Harrison wouldn’t detail specifics, but 26 proposals will also be sent to the mayor’s office.
“Right now it’s out of control so how do we get some control of the violence again and involve the community. We’ve got to get everyone involved so you’re going to hear all hands on deck,” said Harrison.
Nya Cope’s family is planning to have a balloon release and vigil here at the scene on Saturday, while the call for action is set to take place Sunday afternoon.
