INDIANAPOLIS — After a mass shooting involving seven young people in downtown Indianapolis, there's no question whether youth violence is a problem.
However, there are a lot of questions when it comes to finding a solution.
Community leader Rev. Charles Harrison believes the solution starts at home with parents.
"You got 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds downtown at 11:30 at nighttime, that's a conversation we have got to have because I don't think police and community groups ought to be babysitting those kids," said Harrison.
Instead, he said that job is for parents. It's a role Harrison knows well being a father to two high school students.
"There's been some places I just didn't feel safe for the kids to go, and I went with them just to make sure they were going to be protected," Harrison said.
A new report from IUPUI backs his concerns.
The report says youth homicides in Indianapolis have tripled since 2016, according to the study's author, Dr. Lauren Magee at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
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As for nonfatal shootings, the report found that for every homicide, there are three to four young people shot.
State leaders representing Indianapolis are also looking for solutions to curb this violence.
"This was a mass murdering, a mass shooting and this has to be addressed," said State Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-District 98.
Shackleford believes part of the issue is easy access to guns.
"We should not have teens feeling like they need to carry a weapon to protect themselves and it should not be so easily accessed that they can get these weapons," Shackleford said.
State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-District 33, believes the problem isn't just guns, but also support from the state to get certain laws passed.
"It's important for the people in the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana to understand that a vibrant Indianapolis, a safe Indianapolis, is a safe state of Indiana," he said.
On the city level, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears is questioning when parents should be held accountable.
"I think we have very different expectations for a parent's role and responsibility for a 12- and 13-year-old as opposed to someone who is 17," Mears said.
On Monday, IMPD and Mears hinted at an announcement expected this week focused on youth violence saying they are "looking at all avenues of the law."
Police say the gunfire Saturday night was not random. They say it stemmed from an issue between two groups of people. Mears said a curfew is not off the table.