INDIANAPOLIS -- Three teens were shot during a drive-by shooting at a birthday party on Indianapolis' northwest side Saturday evening.
Investigators say the shooting happened outside of "Royal Palace Event Center" near West 38th Street and Lafayette Road around 10 p.m.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers on the scene say the shooting happened during a birthday party for a 13-year-old girl.
According to officers, the victims were a 16-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. All three were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police say no parents or witnesses at the scene would cooperate with their investigation.
"It's this mad code of silence in the community that was created by the people involved in crime," said Rev. Charles Harrison of the Ten Point Coalition. "Now we've kind of adopted that as the code we live by. This is nonsense!"
Harrison believes two things are encouraging people to not report incidents to police, which include historical tensions between police and black communities and an "anti-snitching" culture.
"Lot of incidents have occurred over the last few years that have only heightened the tensions," he said. "If kids come forward then their kids will be a target of retaliation."
Jeff Nguyen, who owns a business next door to the Royal Palace Event Center, said when witnesses keep information from police, the community pays the price.
"I'd like to ask people who know about these people- the drive by shooter, come and talk to the police so that we can bring peace and fairness to the victims," he said. "We cannot continue to have our children shot or killed and then there's silence in the community- we're upholding this code of silence. All we're doing is protecting the criminals and dangerous people in our community and we make it then unsafe for everybody."
Police said the vehicle was described as a dark blue Chevy cobalt with a spoiler kit. The motive for the shooting is also unclear.
Those with information on the case should call Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.
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