Source: KiddNation / Kidd Nation

INDIANAPOLIS — A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after being shot by another 13-year-old on Sunday. The boy who fired the gun faces serious criminal charges, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.

“I don’t know how this young man got his hands on this gun; that part is still murky,” said Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Hamner says the child facing charges of attempted murder may not be convicted, but the charges were filed to make sure the legal process goes fairly.

Hamner adds that before he became Johnson County District Attorney, he noticed a pattern of kids committing gun crimes. Although not specifically about the current case, it is part of a larger problem of youth violence.

“In general, what we saw with young men, particularly male offenders, was the absence of a father in the home and a lack of adult male supervision.

What happens next in this case? He explained that the accused will appear before a juvenile judge to admit or deny the charges. In juvenile court cases, the charges are not called criminal charges, but a delinquency petition.