Family mourns father and son killed in shooting

INDIANAPOLIS — Father and son Michael Rollins, Jr. and Michael Rollins, Sr., both died after being shot late Wednesday night. Their family says that Michael, Sr. was a 39-year-old father of nine who loved working on cars.

"He's very lovable. He'd give you the shirt off his back. Nobody has anything bad to say about him. So when I heard that this happened, I said, 'Who would do this to him?'" his sister, Tammy Rollins said.

"He's the first son I've had to bury. This is something that I feel like will be with me for the rest of my life. No parent wants to bury their child," Wayne Rollins, father to Michael, Sr., said.

Michael, Jr. was 18 years old. He was the eldest of his siblings and a role model for the younger ones.

"He was very loving, very loving young man. He had his whole life ahead of him. His life just got started," Tammy said.

"It's like a hurt that I never felt before. I never lost any siblings. I still have both my parents. But this is like I'm numb. Because he didn't deserve it," Michael Sr.'s sister, Denise Strong said.

IMPD is investigating the shooting and doesn't have anyone in custody yet.

According to police, the two were at a gathering at a house on Hillside Avenue on the Northeast side when the shooting occurred. Michael, Jr. died on the scene, and his father died shortly afterward in a nearby hospital.

"Whoever's out there. Someone knows something. Please come forward," Denise said.

"I hope that whoever's out there listening to this, I hope they realize what they did. Because somewhere, they'll be caught," Wayne said.

The month of October has been violent in the Circle City, with at least 12 homicides in the first six days. That's why the Rollins family wants to share their story, in the hopes that it can help bring peace to the streets.

"When you're taking a life, you not thinking about who you're hurting. You're hurting the community. You hurt families. You took a father away from his children," Tammy said.

If you would like to help the Rollins family with the costs for the two burials, you can donate on their GoFundMe page.