INDIANAPOLIS — Three simple words are printed on a flag at home off Linwood Avenue on the city’s east side — “End gun violence."
Indianapolis resident and Beech Grove High School Teacher Trevor Giddings put the flag up around Thanksgiving as a way to be a part of the solution.
“I’m a high school teacher and unfortunately gun violence is something that I have to think about all the time,” Giddings said.
Giddings' home sits less than a half mile away from where IMPD says an 8-year-old girl was shot inside a house Wednesday night.
Police responded to the 4200 block of E. Washington Street around 9 p.m. Family told IMPD the shot came from outside the home. The girl was shot in the leg and taken to Riley Hospital for Children in stable condition.
“How does it keep happening?” Giddings asked. “I’m tired of suffering the consequences of gun violence,”
The numbers show that guns are impacting teenagers at a slightly higher rate than this time last year. IMPD says as of December 23, 2022, 84 teens under the age of 17 have been impacted by gun violence compared to 82 on that date in 2021.
Giddings hopes his flag will help bring awareness to an ever-growing issue.
“Even if you are not directly connected to it, it just hurts everyone,” Giddings said.
For months WRTV has been reporting on the growing problem of kids becoming victims of gun violence.
Click here to read more about this urgent issue and what community leaders say needs to be done.
