INDIANAPOLIS -- Gun violence in Indianapolis is a problem plaguing the city's youth.
One Indianapolis man knows all too well the impacts killings can have.
“I don’t think kids now a days understand the results for their actions,” Allegiant Prep Academy music teacher George Haynes said.
George Haynes has been a fixture at Allegiant Prep Academysince the start of the year. He is working to inspire the next generation.
The soft-spoken Haynes will tell you that he felt like he had to come back home to make a difference in his community.
“I was in the film industry doing production in Atlanta, Georgia before I came here,” Haynes said.
The date was December 29, 2021.
“He was one of my close friends,” Haynes said.
37-year-old DeJuan Alexander was found shot and killed near 46th and Keystone Avenue on the Indy’s north side.
“We did music together and I kind of stopped doing music because of that – so I needed to find out what direction I wanted to go in,” Haynes added.
Haynes found Allegiant Prep Academy and went back to something that has always been a constant in his life.
“I just felt like I needed some guidance when I was in school, so I just wanted to be the person that I needed to the youth,” Haynes told WRTV.
Haynes is working to teach and mentor students at Allegiant Prep Academy like Treasure Edwards.
“He told me that if I keep up signing when I grow up, I can be what I want to be,” Edwards said.
Rick Anderson founded Allegiant Prep Academy about 5 years ago. Anderson says one of the school's missions is making sure its students are on the right track to be successful after they leave the academy.
“This area was identified as one of the hot spots in this city, so high volumes of crime in this area – we want to change that narrative,” Anderson told WRTV.
For Haynes he says he is going to continue to try and make an impact as long as he can.
“To let kids who are into music know that there are different ways than just violence all the time,” Haynes concluded.
Haynes also serves as the basketball coach at Believe Circle City High School. The girls’ basketball team won the school’s first ever basketball championship February 10th.
