INDIANAPOLIS — A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder for his alleged role in a shooting that killed a KIPP Indy Legacy High School student on school grounds earlier this month, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday.
The suspect also faces an attempted murder charge following the Nov. 3 shooting, which killed 15-year-old Devin Gilbert III.
An initial hearing for the suspect is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17.
Shortly before 1 p.m. Nov. 3, IMPD officers responded to a report of a person shot in the 2200 block of Ralston Avenue, near Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue. Police used crime scene tape to mark off an area of a parking lot on the campus grounds of the school.
Arriving officers found a high school student, later identified as Gilbert, who had been shot. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he died.
Gilbert's mom told 13News that, “Devin was a sweet loving child that was my sunshine, my heart. He was an awesome big brother to his five younger siblings ... I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he was human.”
She said her son was shot right in front of her at the school and that she still doesn’t know exactly why he was targeted.
"I'm sad, I'm anxious. Still feel chills talking about it. I can't imagine a kid leaving school with his mom and something like that happens," said Kareem Hines, founder of the New B.O.Y. mentorship program. "It’s disheartening because our kids are not scared to die. I’ll tell you what, they’re scared to live. It’s become so normal to them.”
On the day of the shooting, IMPD said a person who was not a student had been detained. Police later announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy.
“We have to (do) better. We owe it to our youth to lead the way in doing that. We have to come together as a community to develop solutions to take guns out of the hands of youth and prevent acts like this,” IMPD North District Commander Matt Thomas said following the shooting.