INDIANAPOLIS — A Metro police officer who just retired from the force just lost his son in a deadly shooting. The victim's family is sending a message to the shooter.
Family members of 22-year-old Joe Simmons Jr. got a knock at the door around 5 a.m. Monday as part of the notification process.
"It's devastating," said Pastor Derrick Miller, who serves as the Simmons family spokesperson. The victim was his cousin.
Miller shared the impact deadly violence is having on their entire family. The local pastor is disturbed about the number of young people Indianapolis is losing to deadly violence.
"This affects everybody and none of us are exempt from this," said Miller. "Especially our young people and the culture of our young people lacking conflict management skills."
The shooting happened just after midnight on Churchill Court near East 21st Street and North Mitthoeffer Road. Metro police believe a disturbance broke out during a house party attended by more than 50 people Sunday night. 13News learned that Simmons' girlfriend was with him when he took his last breath. Although dozens of people were at the get-together, detectives are still trying to piece together information about what lead to the conflict itself.
The victims' father is a retired Metro Police officer who served on the force for several years.
"I feel like this generation of young people, they have lost their moral compass," said Miller.
Miller applauds city leaders trying to tackle crime with prevention programs, but believes the problems run much deeper than that.
"We have a thousand programs in the city," said Miller. "We got a thousand organizations. Honestly, we have to get back to the matters of the heart and deal with the heart of the people."
The younger Simmons survived being the victim of a shooting in August 2020 that was investigated as an aggravated assault. Now, as homicide detectives investigate his deadly shooting, Miller shares a message for his young cousin's killer.
"I want him to just turn himself in, take responsibility for his role in this crime," he said.
If you have information about the fatal shooting on Churchill Court, you can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317-262-TIPS. If your tip leads to an arrest, you will receive a reward up to $1,000.