Back in 2022, there was a mass shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall. Four people died including the perpetrator and two were injured on July 17, 2022.
“My parents and brother were there, but I wasn’t,” senior Bryelle Humphrey said. “However, I saw how it affected my brother, it changed his mannerisms and his actions. He got some PTSD and didn't talk for a while.”
Gun violence refers to violence committed with the use of a firearm, resulting in physical harm, injury, or death. It is considered a consequential public health concern and a leading cause of premature death of youths in the U.S.
There are multiple root causes attributed to gun violence among teens. Contributing factors may include but aren´t limited to mental health, poverty, the media and systemic issues.
According to recent reporting from Chalkbeat, deaths from gun violence in Indianapolis dropped in 2024, but the number of non-fatal shootings has gone up. Gun violence often has profound effects on communities, especially the Indianapolis community, leaving behind social and emotional harm that affects not just the victims but the families of these victims.
“Gun violence puts fear and mistrust in your mind about who you should hang around with and who is safe,” junior Jace Fowles said. “The lack of education and information causes this fear for both those it happens to and those committing it, kind of like ignorance. We learn to learn how to deal with our emotions safely, without harming others, and learn how to keep an open mind.”
Victims of gun violence often experience severe and long-lasting physical, mental and emotional aftermath. Exposure to gun violence can have a lasting impact on youth, leading to mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression and PTSD.
School shootings, in particular, affect a large number of young people.
“[Politicians] need to construct more gun laws because school shootings are a huge issue in America,” Humphrey said. “However, they just see the freedom they get from it. I don't think they need to completely take away firearms. We just need some restrictions to be safer.”
The media’s portrayal of gun violence can potentially normalize violence in the minds of younger people, according to Kareem Hines, founder of the New Breed of Youth organization. Also known as New B.O.Y., the group focuses on mentorship and development of the local youth in Indianapolis.
“I think the media makes [guns] almost popular for these kids,” Hines said. “I have a lot of kids who I work with, and they don’t get affirmed for their successes, but every time there’s a shooting or a robbery it makes the paper, it makes social media. Kids have become desensitized to gun violence. It is just everything. They hear it in the music, see it on social media, the value of life is diminished to them.”
According to research, poverty can significantly contribute to the damaging effects gun violence effect has on teens.
“There’s a desire to want everything now, keep up with the images they see, to be popular, give them clout,” Hines said. “If that means putting a gun to somebody's head to rob them, stealing a car, robbing a local drug dealer they’ll do that and they call it a come-up, quick come-up. These kids need that male role model to teach them their lives have value.”
In order to diminish the effect of gun violence on youths, some people say that banning all guns is not the solution.
“Gun violence isn't a great thing,” senior Connor Lee said. “However, I don’t believe completely getting rid of guns all in general is the right thing.” “I feel like when you purchase a gun, buy a gun, or obtain a gun you should go through a safety class or at least have an understanding of how to carefully use one.”
Still, others think there needs to be a policy change that supports and protects the safety of youth through more strict gun control.
“A complete overhaul of our gun laws is necessary,” social studies teacher Jeffery Arvin said. “However, it starts with a changing of attitudes in society and would probably grow from there, but that’s probably why it hasn't happened yet in America because it’s hard to change these attitudes and get people to realize that we could have a safer society if we wanted one.”