INDIANAPOLIS — The issue of kids and guns was a major topic in debate and the race for Marion County Prosecutor.
This month, IMPD arrested two teen boys in connection to a pair of armed robberies of food delivery drivers.
But those arrests aren't the first IMPD has made involving kids and guns.
It's a growing concern from both officers and the community.
2021 data from the Indiana Department of Correction shows that 23 teens from Marion County were sentenced to jail for the most serious crimes.
Violence among youth is something JP McMillian,12, says he is trying to help prevent.
"There are a lot of kids my age and up getting killed out here for what they are doing because they want to be in gangs," McMillian said. "They need to see that kids want to stop the violence too, kids have been dying back-to-back"
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office says it believes that teens carrying guns is on the rise.
"Certainly disturbing when you see juveniles involved in an armed robbery or a robbery," IMPD Officer William Young said.
Young said it will take a collaborative effort to curb the violence among youth.
Tony Pippin, an Indianapolis resident, said his sense of safety in the place he calls home was taken from him.
He said his wife's car was broken into and stolen.
"He was rummaging around in the car and found a broken key that goes to the car and he took off in it, and they caught him a few blocks away," Pippin said. "He was on house arrest and he had a gun."
An IMPD police report shows a 17-year-old was arrested for that crime.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office says between January 2020 and July 2022 they have filed 418 cases involving young people under 18 possessing firearms.
The prosecutor's office says they believe that is a significant increase over previous time periods.
