Peace Activist Reacts to Shooting at Indy Church
INDIANAPOLIS — Gunshots were fired outside Antioch Fountain of Grace Baptist Church on the city’s northwest side Saturday during a memorial service.
The shooting left one person dead at the scene and another injured and taken to a hospital. Officers said a nearby dispute escalated, and a peace activist said the incident raised concern among community leaders about safety at sacred gatherings.
“This is the kind of situation we fear can happen,” said Charles Harrison of the Ten Point Coalition. “There’s always a possibility, particularly when you’re having a funeral for someone who’s been a homicide victim, or even when disputes and arguments arise among people gathered.”
Harrison said the violence was especially troubling given the setting.
“To have something like this happen at a funeral — at a sacred place — where people are grieving, is extremely disturbing,” he said. “People are willing to pull out a gun and harm another human being in a moment like this.”
He described the shooting as part of a broader pattern of violence that reflects deeper societal issues.
“It just seems like there is no moral compass anymore in our society,” Harrison said. “People just do what they feel, without thinking about the consequences of their actions.”
Harrison also pointed to what he sees as a shift over time, comparing current conditions to when he was growing up.
“There is no fear anymore, no fear of God, no fear of consequences,” he said. “That’s so different from what it was 30, 40, 50 years ago when I was a child.”
He added that respect for both sacred spaces and human life appears to be eroding.
“There are no more ‘thou shalt nots,’” Harrison said. “There’s no respect for the sanctity of a place like a church, and there’s no respect for human life.”
Community organizations, including the Ten Point Coalition, have worked for years in Indianapolis to curb violence through outreach and conflict intervention. Harrison said the latest shooting underscores the urgency of that work.
“This is what we are facing today,” he said. “And we’ve got to do better, as a nation and as a people.”
