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East Indianapolis neighborhood mourns 5-year-old's shooting death

Investigators believe the boy may have accidentally shot himself. Police arrested a man for neglect.

INDIANAPOLIS — A memorial has started to grow in front of the house on the east side of Indianapolis where a 5-year-old boy was shot and killed last week. 

Neighbors said they will never forget that night on North Kealing Avenue, near 10th Street and Sherman Drive. They can still hear the scream that came from the house on Friday. 

"The mother was sitting in her front yard just screaming really, really loud," Don Chase said.

"She was screaming hysterically 'my baby is dead,'" said another neighbor, Denise Bryant. 

Several neighbors called 911 during the chaotic scene. 

Officers found a little boy, later identified in an arrest report as a 5-year-old, shot and injured. He later died at the hospital.

On Tuesday, the Marion County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 5-year-old Hakiem Scott.

Police are investigating whether the child accidentally shot himself.

On Saturday, IMPD arrested 25-year-old Jahbar Scott for neglect of a dependent causing death. The prosecutor has not filed formal charges.

"You saw people in this community with tears in their eyes last night because they didn't ever think it would happen to them that close," Chase said. "It happened, and it could have been prevented." 

"As a parent with kids, I would never have a gun loaded inside my house where a child could get a hold of it," Chase said.

As this community waits for answers, the memorial is a stark reminder of the family impact of gun violence.

"It's devastating for any parent to have to go through something like that," Chase said.

"It's a tragedy. A real tragedy that a toddler should have to die that way," Bryant said.

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