Indiana Boy, 17, charged with murdering four family members and brother’s pregnant girlfriend, ‘chased and shot his younger brother as he begged for his life’ – Raymond Childs III shot his parents in bed
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Raymond Childs III, 17, on Thursday morning
Raymond Childs III is facing six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of carrying a handgun without a license
He is accused of killing six at his family’s home in Indianapolis on Sunday, identified as Childs III’s mother Kezzie, father Raymond Jr, both 2
His brother 18-year-old brother Elijah and 13-year-old sister Rita along with Elijah’s pregnant girlfriend Kiara Hawkins, 19, and her unborn son were also killed
The gunman was identified by his younger brother Xavier, 15, who was hospitalized with gunshot wounds
An affidavit said Child, allegedly, he also shot his parents in their bed

A seventeen-year-old male suspect accused of killing five family members and an unborn baby in a shooting at his family’s home in Indianapolis has been charged with murder.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Raymond Childs III on Thursday morning, according to court records.
The 17-year-old who is being cargged as an adult is facing six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of carrying a handgun without a license.
The suspect allegedly went on a shooting spree early Sunday morning – killing his parents Kezzie Childs andd Raymond Childs Jr, both 42, his older brother Elijah Childs, 18, and 13-year-old sister Rita Childs.
Elijah’s girlfriend Kiara Hawkins, 19, was also killed, along with her unborn baby boy.
Childs III was identified as the gunman by his younger brother Xavier Childs, who suffered gunshot wounds as he fled from the home, police said. Xavier, 15, remains hospitalized but is expected to recover.
Police previously withheld the suspect’s name due to his age. It was released after the charges were filed in adult court due to the severity of the alleged crimes.

A probable cause affidavit revealed how Childs III allegedly chased his fleeing brother Xavier down and shot him twice as he begged for his life – narrowly missing his skull.
The affidavit also states that Childs III shot his parents in their bed, as his father, who had allegedly scolded the teen earlier for breaking curfew, pleaded: ‘I’m sorry Raymond, I love you.’
Childs III is charged with six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of carrying a handgun without a license. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted



The gunman was identified by his younger brother Xavier Childs, who suffered gunshot wounds as he fled from the home, according to relatives and a police report. Xavier, 15, remains hospitalized but is expected to recover.
Raymond Childs III fled from the home after nearly wiping out his entire family. He was arrested on Monday about 25 miles away in Plainfield at a relative’s home.
He was being held at Marion County Juvenile Detention Center prior to charges being filed. It’s expected that he would be charged as an addult.



Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the charges at a press conference on Thursday morning.
Mears said Childs III carried out the shooting with two different firearms – first using a 9MM handgun and then switching to a ‘draco gun’ after the handgun ran out of bullets.
The handgun was recovered from the home and the draco gun was found after Childs III was arrested. Both guns appeared to have been owned by the family said Mears, who did not say whether they were legally obtained.
The probable cause affidavit featured four photos of the draco gun allegedly used in the shooting. A fifth photo showed an AK-style magazine that was found wrapped in clothes in a car belonging to Childs III’s girlfriend, identified only as ‘J.D.’

Neighbors had called 911 to report the shooting at about 4am Sunday after Xavier fled from the house on Adams Street and collapsed on their porch, according to the probable cause affidavit.
When he got to the hospital, Xavier told officers that his 17-year-old brother was the gunman, saying: ‘They killed my entire family.’
Describing the moments leading up to the shooting, Xavier reportedly told detectives that his older sibling had been scolded by his father for leaving the house without permission.
The father, Raymond Jr, warned his older son that he would be punished later, Xavier said, before chaos erupted.
The younger brother said he was downstairs with his parents when they heard gunfire upstairs. His sister shrieked: ‘He shot Elijah,’ and more shots rang out.

He said his brother then ‘came downstairs with a draco gun, a handgun that shoots rifle rounds, and started shooting’, the police report states.
Xavier ran out of the house as his sibling followed behind him and opened fire multiple times.
When Childs III caught up to him, Xavier said he told him: ‘I can give you forty dollars, please don’t kill me.’
‘He just looked at me and then he shot me on the leg. I fell. He shot me in my arm. And then he tried to shoot me in my head but missed, I guess,’ Xavier told detectives.
Kezzie, Raymond Jr, Elijah and Rita were all declared dead at the scene. The parents were killed as they laid in their bed in the basement. Xavier said his father’s last words were: ‘I’m sorry Raymond, I love you.’
Hawkins, who had been in bed with Elijah, was transported to a local hospital, where she died along with her unborn baby despite life-saving measures, police said.
Autopsies confirmed that Raymond Jr and Kezzie both died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. Elijah and Kiara each died of a single gunshot to the head, and Rita died of a single gunshot to the chest.
Loved ones set up two GoFundMe campaigns for the Childs family and for Kiara Hawkins, to help with the funeral costs.

Police tracked Childs III down through his girlfriend, J.D., according to the affidavit.
Detectives had gone to the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant where Childs III and J.D. worked, and the manager told them that both employees called out sick that morning.
The officers then went to J.D.’s home and found a white Chrysler registered to Raymond Jr parked outside. They then brought J.D. in for questioning following a traffic stop.
J.D. directed investigators toward a home on Burkhart South Drive where she said Childs III was staying.

Recounting the hours before the shooting, J.D. said Childs III was planning to spend the night at her house on Saturday when his father called and told him to come home.
J.D. said Childs III left in an Uber and then came back to her house sometime before 3am on Sunday morning in a white Chrysler that she said she had never seen him driving before.
Childs III told J.D. that his father had kicked him out of the house, she said, noting that he brought two bags of clothes and some shoes with him.
About 30 minutes after Childs III came back to her house, J.D. said she got an alert on her phone about a shooting on Adams Street. She asked him if he knew anything about it and he said no.
Later in the morning J.D. said she convinced Childs III to go to the crime scene, saying he seemed ‘nervous’. When they got there, he began crying and ‘acted a clown’, she said.
They then went back to her home, where he grabbed some of his clothes and asked her to drive him to another house. After she dropped him off, J.D. said she saw a magazine fly out of the pile of clothes Childs III had left on the floor.

Rhonique Hawkins said her daughter Kiara, was just days away from her due date when she was killed: ‘She was my first. Everything she taught me made me the woman and mom I am today,’ Rhonique said.
‘I love and miss her dearly.’
Music video 30on30 by Lil RAYMOND that features several weapons
A local pastor reacted to the tragedy on Tuesday, revealing his fears that violent lyrics in the suspect’s music may have inspired the killing spree.
Videos posted on YouTube allegedly showed the suspect, who used the name ‘Lil Raymond’ rapping about guns and shooting people, Pastor Kenneth Sullivan Jr told WTHR.
‘It’s really gut-wrenching, it really hurts,’ said Sullivan, whose relationship to the Childs family is unclear.


He said its possible that the ‘aspiring artist’ was ‘acting out’ things that he rapped about when he carried out the shooting.
‘If you’re constantly feeding your mind negative things and destructive things, it won’t be long before act upon those things,’ Sullivan said.
WTHR reported that investigators are working to determine whether the guns seen in the music video matched the one used in Sunday’s shooting.
Loved ones and neighbors gathered on the street on Sunday to console each other and share their shock at what had unfolded in the quiet community.
Leave a Reply