Teens and Guns: Illegal Uses

On New Year’s Eve in 2011, a Y-Press journalist lost her cousin to a fatal gunshot wound on Indianapolis’ near Northside.

At a storyboard, she came to her peers with a question: How easy is it for teens in Indianapolis to get access to guns?

Starting with this question of access, Y-Press determined that others in the community would be interested too and began the work of investigating the topic of teens and illegal gun use.

As part of their reporting, Y-Press journalists visited Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility to learn how inmates got access to guns, why guns were important to them, and how they used the weapons. They also spoke with police detectives who are part of a special task force that is using new strategies to combat youth violence in Indianapolis. The team’s findings are reported in this four-part series.

Later this spring, Y-Press will present a follow-up series on teens and legal gun uses.
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On New Year’s Eve in 2011, a Y-Press journalist lost her cousin to a fatal gunshot wound on Indianapolis’ near Northside. At a storyboard, she came to her peers with a question: How easy is it for teens in Indianapolis to get access to guns? Starting with this question of access, Y-Press determined that others in the community would be interested too and began the work of investigating the topic of teens and illegal gun use. As part of their reporting, Y-Press journalists visited Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility to learn how inmates got access to guns, why guns were important to them, and how they used the weapons. They also spoke with police detectives who are part of a special task force that is using new strategies to combat youth violence in Indianapolis. The team’s... Show full description