08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis City-County Council pushes to start youth curfew 2 hours earlier after shooting
After a violent holiday weekend that included a mass shooting downtown in which two teenagers died, the Indianapolis City-County Council is pushing to impose an earlier youth curfew at the urging of the police chief and the mayor.
A new proposal introduced at a July 7 council meeting would begin the curfew for all minors in Marion County two hours earlier. The council will also consider measures to hold parents and guardians accountable for their children's actions, including fines and parenting classes for repeat violations.
Proposal No. 232 would make it unlawful for minors to be unsupervised in a public place in Marion County during the following hours:
The curfew currently begins two hours later in each category, according to state law that the city follows.
Under state law, it's illegal for teenagers ages 15-17 to be out alone in public after 1 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday and after 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday unless they are going to or returning from work, an extracurricular activity, or a religious event, among other exceptions. Children younger than 15 must be in their homes by 11 p.m. every day.
The push to restrict the curfew follows a mass shooting involving juveniles gathered near Washington and Illinois Streets in the early hours of July 5, after thousands of people gathered downtown for the annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
Two teenagers — Azareaon S. Cole, 15, and Xavion Jackson, 16 — were killed and five other people were injured. Police have charged four teens in connection with the shootings.
While the current proposal would only extend the curfew, councilors said they aim to add civil penalties including fines and parenting classes for the parents and guardians of repeat offenders in a July 16 Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meeting.
The amended bill will return to the full council for a vote in a future meeting.
Michael-Paul Hart, who leads the 25-member council's six Republicans, said that without penalties for parents, the resolution seems unlikely to improve safety among teens.
"We've got a parental problem, sure," Hart said, "but just changing the hours isn't going to change the behavior."
In the meantime, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will redouble its efforts to enforce the existing curfew. Mayor Joe Hogsett said the city will back IMPD's efforts to boost enforcement and save lives.
"The youth gun violence we experienced in our city this weekend was tragic, unacceptable — and completely preventable," Hogsett said in a written statement. "Our city's youth have no business being out unsupervised in the middle of the night."
