Police say mass shooting outside Indianapolis mall injures 7 children and teens

Police say a downtown Indianapolis mass shooting late Saturday night hospitalized seven minors.

The shooting outside the city's Circle Centre Mall soon after 11 p.m. local time injured 12 to 17-year-olds.

The Indianapolis Metro Police Department said investigators believe many weapons were used in the shooting, but no suspects have been detained. A police report identified four boys and three girls as victims, all of whom were stable when Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Tanya Terry briefed reporters early Sunday morning.

After downtown patrol officers heard multiple gunshot, police arrived. Six children had bullet wounds in a larger group. All were taken to a hospital by emergency medical personnel. One victim was critical during transport, but the classification was changed and they are stable. The remaining five victims were stable during transfer.

A seventh victim, who authorities said was shot downtown, was treated as a walk-in at another hospital. Indianapolis police also described that person's condition as stable.

"Once again, we have a situation in which young people are resolving conflict with firearms, and it has to stop," said the deputy police chief. Terry noted that the department has already put resources toward efforts "to address these juvenile crowds before they get started" and will continue to do that with the hopes of "preventing this kind of crime."

The deputy chief also requested parental assistance.

"We would ask for our parents to get involved in what their children are out doing, especially at these hours of the evening," he said. "This was 11:30 at night, the evening right before Sunday, Easter. So if you don't know where your 12-year-old is, I think that should be a priority for you."

Investigations into the shooting continue.