The 5-month-old baby who was hit by a… See more
In a heartbreaking incident that has left a community in shock, a 5-month-old baby was critically injured after being struck by a stray bullet. The tragedy has reignited discussions about gun violence and public safety, with many demanding stricter measures to prevent such senseless acts.
What Happened?
According to authorities, the infant was at home with family when a gunfight erupted nearby. A stray bullet pierced through the walls of the residence, striking the baby. Emergency responders rushed the child to the hospital, where they remain in critical condition.
Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots before the incident, suggesting an ongoing dispute in the area. Police have launched an investigation but have yet to make any arrests.
Community Reaction
The incident has sparked outrage among local residents, with many calling for immediate action to curb gun violence.
National article shows gun violence in Fort Wayne isn’t slowing down, while surrounding cities are
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – A recent article written by The Trace, a national organization, explains how Fort Wayne has not seen a decrease in homicides since the pandemic, like other cities have.
For instance, Josiah Bates, the author of the article, has also written articles detailing Detroit hitting the city’s lowest homicide number in 2024 since 1965.
Bates has also written articles on how Lansing saw a 19 percent decrease in all shooting incidents from October 2022 to September 2024 in a study commissioned by a local Advance Peace Program.
“I think it’s showing that Fort Wayne is struggling a little bit with building some type of violence prevention or intervention ecosystem,” said Bates.
According to Bates, under Mayor Tom Henry, Cities United got involved and was able to create the Ten Point Coalition, but when Mayor Tucker took over, that was put on pause.
In October of last year, the city released a statement regarding the future of youth programs and how they would not be involved going forward.
“The Fort Wayne UNITED Steering Committee recently shared with Mayor Tucker its desire to oversee and manage Fort Wayne UNITED initiatives, including the Ten Point Coalition, moving forward. Accordingly, the city will neither oversee nor directly participate in Fort Wayne UNITED programming as of today.”
Said City Spokesperson, John Perlich, on Oct. 17th, 2024
The end of a recent statement made by Mayor Tucker says, “we must come together as a community to find solutions.”
“You do see this a lot, where mayors or elected officials, you know, their city is struggling with gun violence, and they’ll say, hey, the community needs to come together, the community needs to stand up. But then you look at what the city itself is doing, and they’re not really doing anything about it.”
said Bates.
While violence has not been declining over the last couple of years, the FWPD says they have a clearance rate of 89 percent.
“That’s a high number for sure, you’ll see… cities where they have clearance rates below 40%. So, the fact that homicides are getting solved is a bonus, and that is something positive to look at,” says Bates.
While Bates says that is something that Fort Wayne residents should be proud of the effective retroactive efforts from police, there needs to be more proactive efforts from the city.
“While in Fort Wayne, there are a lot of community groups that are doing work, the city doesn’t have anything to address gun violence specifically,” said Bates.