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Last updated on Monday, March 19, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indianapolis Metro Police continue to search for the suspect involved in a weekend shooting downtown that injured five people.
The shootings took place around 10:00 p.m. Saturday along the canal between New York and Ohio Streets. A 14-year-old boy, who shot in the chest, and a 16-year-old girl, who was shot in the leg, remain in serious condition Monday morning at Riley Hospital for Children.
Metro Police say the five teenage victims were shot by someone they knew. This kind of violence among young people, police say, happens far too often. The shooting also comes at a time when the city's police forces are facing major budget issues.
Indianapolis' police and fire departments are facing a $32 million budget shortfall. The fear is that the Department of Public Safety would be out of money in just a couple of months.
Public Safety Director Frank Straub says, "We're in a difficult situation, we're in a place where we've lost too many police officers. We're below where we should be in a staffing pattern that means you have to spend more on overtime. and at some point, you're spending more on overtime than it's worth and you're better off having another police class. So, I think the city has to make some tough decisions about what we're going to do."
Police say they believe the city remains safe despite what happened Saturday night.
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