INDIANAPOLIS — Thursday evening marked the third time a teen was shot and killed since Nov. 12. Kaleiah Veloise-Mae Dean, 14, was killed in a neighborhood near 32nd Street and Emerson Avenue.
Isaac Harris, who lives near where Dean was shot, said his neighborhood has been unsafe for years. He said he has bullet holes in his front door after a different shooting and many of his neighbors' apartments are damaged just as much.
Harris' daughter is only a few years younger than Dean, and he said the conversation before she walks out of the door is how to keep herself safe.
"I don't want her just coming out here and people taking care of her, people have their own lives, and they need to take care of themselves," he said.
Harris said the reason for the recent rise in youth gun violence is because younger people do not know how to resolve problems.
"Be a kid for now," he said. "Being grown is not all it's cracked out to be."
Dean attended Arsenal Tech High School. In a statement to 13News, the school said they are mourning her death and the district's response crisis response team was at the school to provide support for students and staff. Dean is the third student from Arsenal Tech to be killed this year.
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Police who responded to the scene Thursday night are calling on people to take action to stop youth gun violence.
"I don't know the answer, but the community has to come together and do everything they can to try to stop the violence in the city," IMPD Capt. Mark McCardia said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Detective Lottie Patrick at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or email Lottie.Patrick@indy.gov. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.