Gun violence has skyrocketed in Indy these past few weeks. The most recent occurrence happened in the first block of West Maryland Street where two teens started shooting at each other, causing nine kids ages 12-16 to get shot and hospitalized.

IMPD has started enforcing a new curfew in hopes to put a stop to this youth violence. This curfew is from 1 a.m to 5 a.m. This restricts any people ages 15-17 to be out in the city during this time.

“Just keeping these kids off the street and away from other kids is really the way we are gonna combat this,” Perry Township Police Officer Lucas Quinlin said. “You should be able to go downtown and hang out and not be worried about things like this.”

One SHS event that will be affected by this curfew is the school prom at the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom. It has caused students to acknowledge the violence and rethink their plans after prom.

“I remember going to prom last year with a friend and when we were catching a ride back from her dad we heard gunshots nearby. It was a scary experience, and that’s why my views and perspectives have changed on the ‘strict’ laws implementing onto us,” senior Oreal Johnson said.

IMPD doesn’t know what exactly is causing this uprising in youth violence. But they are doing everything in their power to keep the guns out of the street. The police can’t do anything regarding restricting the guns from the kids, as that responsibility falls into the hands of the politicians.

“Community members gotta be involved,” Quinlin said. “I think we gotta spend more money and funding for our youth programs so kids aren’t just walking in the streets and have somewhere to go.”

This curfew is seen by many as a positive and essential aspect to the community. Bringing an end to all this youth violence is seen not as an annoyance from students but as reassurance that their safety is being a priority.