INDIANAPOLIS -- On the city's northeast side last week, Eric Battle was shot multiple times in the groin as he stood at the corner of 19th and Bosart.
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According to police, Battle, who was recently released from prison, has refused to cooperate with the investigation and identify his shooter.
Street outreach workers from the Ten Point Coalition say many of this year's shootings may be gang related.
"If you were going to be part of the gang, you had to prove yourself by being able to pull the trigger, so they were shooting people below the waist as an initiation to get into a gang or neighborhood clique. We heard that last week from several different sources we have on the streets," Rev. Charles Harrison said.
The streets continue to run with blood. The 11 homicides that have occurred in 2016 are running well below the 18 murders that occurred during the same period last year.
MAP: 2016 Indianapolis homicides
But in the month of January alone, police recorded 49 non-fatal shootings, including ten in one weekend. Many victims were shot below the waist.
"We're looking at that and we're thinking is this an anomaly in the data or is this a trend? We had one individual die after being shot because it hit an artery and he bled out on the way to the hospital," IMPD Chief Troy Riggs said.
While any shooting is concerning, as many as six in ten people who survive non-fatal shootings refuse to cooperate with police. There are many who fear that intimidation has reached a new and more sinister level.
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