Indianapolis Boy Killed By Stray Bullet While Quarantining at Home

It’s been over a month since eight-year-old Rodgerick Payne Jr. of Indianapolis was shot and killed by what police believe was a stray bullet that entered his home in the 3200 block of N. Tacoma Avenue on March 31.

Although very few details have been released, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Detective Chris Edwards said young Rodgerick–who was in quarantine–did nothing wrong.

“He was in the process of finishing his dinner,” Detective Chris Edwards of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told WRTV6 in Indianapolis. “He was in his own living room when a bullet passed through one of the windows of his house and struck him. He wasn’t out doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing. He was eating dinner in his own home and did absolutely nothing to bring this upon himself.”

Detectives have said several shots were fired in that area. One of those was the stray bullet that went through a window and struck Payne. They believe the person who was the intended target may hold the key to finding Payne’s killer.

“We believe there are people out there who absolutely know the details about what happened. We need those people to come forward,” Edwards said. “At least the person who was getting shot at. We don’t care why they were getting shot at, but that person knows who was shooting at them and they know why it happened. We really need those people to come forward and speak to us.”

“If we don’t want things like this to keep happening in our communities, people need to step up and do the right thing,” Edwards said. “This was a child, eight years old.”