A Fourth of July celebration in downtown Indianapolis ended in tragedy just after midnight on July 5, 2025, when a burst of gunfire near Illinois and Washington Street left 16-year-old Xavion Jackson and 15-year-old Azareaon S. Cole dead. The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m.; five other people aged 15 to 21 were wounded. Officers who were already in the area for a separate disturbance arrived to find multiple people with gunshot wounds. Several firearms were recovered and a number of people were initially detained for questioning.

In the days after the shooting four teenagers — aged 13, 15, 16 and 17 — were arrested on charges including dangerous possession of a firearm, resisting law enforcement and obstruction of justice. The 17-year-old, Vincent Lanking, is being charged as an adult, but prosecutors say those charges arise from other disturbances over the holiday weekend and are not tied to the killings of Xavion Jackson and Azareaon S. Cole. Investigators have been reviewing video from the area; no one has been publicly identified or arrested specifically for the murders as of late 2025.

Xavion’s family faces the additional sorrow that he was the third son his mother lost to gun violence. Does anyone who was downtown that night or who has video from the Illinois and Washington Street area around 1:30 a.m. have information that could help investigators?