A shooting claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy in South Bend over the weekend and left another injured.
South Bend police responded to the area of Indiana and Prairie avenues around 9:30 p.m. on Friday when a shooting was reported.
Officials have said 12-year-old Josiah Small was killed in that shooting and a 14-year-old boy was hospitalized.
Small is the second juvenile to be killed in a shooting in South Bend this year, after 11-year-old T’yon Horston was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting in April.
Josiah was a student at the Dickinson Fine Arts Academy and the South Bend school district said counselors will be available this week for students affected by Josiah’s death.
In a message to the community, the district wrote that “Once again, we'll spend our week explaining to middle school students why their friend is not returning. Gun violence continues to cast a dark shadow over our community, and it is imperative that we unite to put an end to these senseless acts.”
An autopsy for Josiah was performed Sunday. Police have not released information about the circumstances of the case, nor have they publicly identified any suspects. Scanner traffic from the time of the incident does not indicated what happened in the area prior to Josiah being found. Police say the boy was declared dead at the scene and they were informed of a second shooting victim, the 14-year-old boy, in the area.
