'Then boom': Indy Youth hold honest discussion about gun violence with Mike Epps

Yahoo

13-05-2025

James Curry was a 17-year-old Arsenal Tech high schooler and student athlete when he was shot.
It was 11:50 p.m. on March 29, 2024, when Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to a home on the city's east side. Curry, now 18, had just come home from football practice and was chilling with his little brother and one of his friends.
"And then, 'Boom,'" Curry told a room full of people a little over a year later. "I was in a coma for a month. I got back on my feet in three months and went to rehab. I had to redo junior year, but I graduate next week."
A round of applause sounded at a round table discussion featuring the teen and other youth who were recording a podcast episode on youth and gun violence prevention downtown.
The episode was orchestrated by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, and Indianapolis native comedian Mike Epps, who spoke with four students from Arsenal Tech, Warren Central High School, and Vision Academy.
Mike Epps: Speaks with Indy youth about gun violence during prosecutor's roundtable
The prosecutor's office said it wanted to highlight the voices of youth, which are too often missing from conversations about violence prevention and public safety.
"We know the summer months can sometimes prevent challenges and wanted to get ahead of this and have a positive message to young people," Mears said. "It starts with listening to kids and using your platform for these kids to kind of share their experience and their stories about gun violence."
Mears said the idea originated from him and Epps brainstorming how they could have a better impact on kids. They wanted to give people a takeaway after hearing the reality of what's going on in the city for many young people.
Epps said it takes a village to raise kids, and this will be a series of continued conversations to amplify voices. He knows too well the reality of youth, having grown up in Indianapolis and losing a lot of friends to the streets, he said. He told the four teens about his friends who call him from prison.
"They told me they see young people come in there every day, joking and laughing," Epps said. "Twenty years from now, they're over there crying or lost their mind because they didn't see the big picture of what the result of this is. You can't bring a life back."
The teens said social media isn't the only factor, but it plays a big role in youth feeling like they have to 'play tough' or 'fight back' when challenged online by "haters." The lines are blurred for real-life consequences when you bring in influence from rappers, artists, and entertainers whose art does not always imitate life.
"I'm in the entertainment business," Epps said. "I see these rappers shopping at Whole Foods, and their kids are in private school. None of that is real."
Warren Central High School senior Chanasia Brown added to the sentiments using two artists as an example. YNW Melly's 2018 hit, "Murder On My Mind," featured lyrics that told a story of an accidental homicide. The artist was later arrested and charged with double murder in the killings of his two childhood friends in February 2019.
"For some people, that is real, but then you have people like Lil Tecca who went on a Genius interview and was like, 'Nah, I was just saying that. I'm not really a gang banger,'" Brown explained. "I think there was a time when music was authentically who you were, but for a lot of these artists, they're just saying what can make them mainstream."
Either way, everyone agreed that so many young people are influenced negatively, and the teens said it comes from them not being confident in who they are. They feel like they have to do what everybody else is doing, and it's about survival.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police data shows 11 juveniles were homicide victims in 2024.
So far this year, there have been three.
In 2023, there were 20 non-fatal shootings involving youth. In 2024, there were 29 non-fatal shootings, and this year so far, there have been 21. This doesn't include accidental shootings.
Mears said the number one charge he gets on the juvenile side of prosecutions is possession of firearms. Whether youth feel like they need the guns to be cool, or for protection, it all ends up the same, with arrests being made and sometimes other kids, like Curry, getting hurt.
"You an angel, man," Epps told Curry after the 18-year-old told his story. "God is using you. He kept you here to tell your story. If you wanna save a lot of kids, just tell them your story. It'll give them hope to live."
Epps and Mears are encouraging kids to put the guns down and want a safe summer for all.
Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at [e-mail] and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Youth, prosecutor and Mike Epps discuss youth gun violence solutions