Michael Auslen, and Justin L. Mack

IndyStar

Sunday night, Indianapolis police found 16-year-old Kayalleiujah Gibson's lifeless body lying in the 4300 block of East 34th Street.

He had been riding his bike in the street about 8:50 p.m. when he was fatally shot in the lower abdomen, investigators said.

Monday afternoon, shortly after police identified the Indianapolis teen as the victim of the shooting, his loved ones gathered at the crime scene to mourn. They left a memorial of three stuffed animals, a bouquet of flowers and a letter from a friend.

Neighbors also offered their condolences and struggled to come to grips with the fact that someone so young had been gunned down in their neighborhood.

"I just couldn't believe it. I was crying and crying after it happened," said resident Samantha Miller.

The shooting occurred in front of Miller's home, just blocks from where Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Perry Renn was fatally shot in July. The memorial dedicated to Gibson leans against the chain link fence surrounding Miller's property.

"My 4-year-old son was playing in the yard catching lightning bugs just 30 minutes before it happened," Miller said. "I'm moving. After the officer being shot and this ... I'm moving within the week.

"I'm scared every night when I go to bed."

According to IMPD officer Rafael Diaz, a potential suspect was seen running north from the area on Colorado Avenue. No description was available Monday afternoon.

Complete information about cause and manner of death will be released after an autopsy.

Jamar Lewis has been living in the Eastside neighborhood on and off for the past 10 years. He said he learned of the shooting late Sunday from a family member.

Lewis was angered by the news, saying teens like Gibson are dying far too often in Indianapolis.

"That breaks my heart. I don't know the family, but I'm praying for them," he said. "I don't care what he might have been into or none of that. No boy that age deserves that. I've got two sons who are gonna be his age soon, and I fear for them."

Gibson's death is the latest fatal shooting with a teen victim. In late July, 15-year-old Ja'Vonne Ellis was found dead with a gunshot wound a few blocks from the Eastside home where he grew up. He was lying in an alley near a Family Dollar store at 38th and Station streets.

About a week later, police found Brandon Ford, 17, dead from an apparent gunshot wound in a home in the 3100 block of College Avenue, according to an IMPD report. Police said Ford was killed by the homeowner during an attempted break-in.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.