Greenfield police see trend of juveniles selling guns and drugs
GREENFIELD, Ind. — A 17-year-old has been arrested and accused of shooting a 16-year-old in Greenfield on Sunday.
Greenfield Police Department says the 16-year-old on Monday remained stable in a hospital. Police were not releasing a lot of information about the case because it involves juveniles. Indiana law protects the disposition of juvenile cases from public view.
Police told I-Team 8 that the case is adding to a recent trend of juveniles involved in guns and drugs.
Investigators have been looking into the sale of illegal guns and drugs in the community, and that effort started June 26 with a random traffic stop in which Greenfield police arrested four juveniles and found drugs and stolen guns.
Since June 26, Greenfield Police Department says it’s arrested from 8-10 people, mainly juveniles, and the arrests are related to selling guns and drugs. Police say they have taken six illegal guns off the streets.
Police described the investigation of Sunday’s shooting has a lot of moving parts. That’s all they’ll say Monday because they don’t want to give away any information that could hurt their chances of arresting everyone involved.
The Hancock County prosecutor says he is working with the Greenfield Police Department on the case to go after everyone involved in selling illegal guns and drugs in the area.
People who live in the area told I-Team 8 that the existence of the investigation was very surprising.
“It wasn’t something that was going around the rumor mill,” said business owner Deb Vetters, who added, “It also shows what a great job that the Greenfield Police Department is doing.”
Vetters has lived in the Greenfield area for 30 years. Despite the shooting Sunday and the larger investigation into gun and drug sales, her opinion of Greenfield is unchanged. “It’s great. It’s very friendly. Quiet, small-town feel. Very safe. We’ve never experienced anything but being safe.”
Greenfield, a city of 24,785, is the seat of Hancock County, located directly east of Marion County and Indianapolis.