ELKHART — It's been two months since police found Gerald Wenger shot to death near downtown Elkhart. Now, investigators say they've finally found his killers, and one is just 13 years old.

Late Thursday morning, investigators arrested Joshua D. Love, 19, and a 13-year-old boy whose name hasn't been released because he's a minor. Both teens were arrested for robbing Wenger at gunpoint, shooting him, then stealing his car.

All three crimes are felonies, though neither teen has been formally charged yet.

Even so, investigators are confident they've solved the case, and that the two teens are the only ones involved in Wenger's death. Now, they join with three families who have suddenly been torn apart by violence, struggling to understand why.

For Margaret Young, there's no hiding the feeling of helplessness.

"I really feel very hurt," she said, fighting back tears.

Four months ago, Young sat on her front porch with her grandson, Joshua Love, just days after she says he was released on parole. She says they both agreed this time things would be different.

"He promised he was going to start his life all over again and try to do the best he could," she said. "And this? I don't know what he's thinking. Because he had a good chance if he'd have done it."

What he did instead, say police, is rob Gerald Wenger, 35, at gunpoint, then steal his car, shoot Wenger at the corner of Middlebury and Monroe streets just southeast of downtown Elkhart, and dump his body on a sidewalk a block away around 2 a.m. on March 8.

Elkhart Police Lieutenant Ed Windbigler says police knew the names of both suspects early in the investigation, but got a tip from a "person of interest" in the case that they arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant earlier this week.

Lt. Windbigler also says drugs may have played a role in the crime, though detectives are still investigating before they'll say for sure. They also aren't sure if the crime was a "robbery gone wrong."

What they are certain of, is that Love didn't act alone. The unnamed 13-year-old was also there, according to police, and he wasn't just along for the ride.

"The facts aren't all out there yet, so I can't say exactly what his involvement was," said Lt. Windbigler. "But he was definitely involved in the whole thing."

Police aren't sure yet how the two knew each other, but say they are not related, and likely met "on the streets." They are also uncertain if either of the teens knew Wenger prior to his murder.

Even for a veteran officer like Windbigler, the suspects came as a shock.

"I've been here 21 years, and I don't remember a 13-year-old ever being charged with murder here," he said.

In fact, Windbigler says he had trouble finding any records at all of a juvenile that young being charged with felony murder in the department's archives.

But it wasn't shocking to everyone.

Several neighbors who live near the 13-year-old's home asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, but told WSBT they've had problems with young teens over the last few months, and even caught one breaking into a nearby house.

At Elkhart's Tolson Community Center, staff also say the shock of teen violence wore off long ago. Tolson helps "at risk" youth in Elkhart find positive role models, and involves them in activities that keep them "off the street" and encourage growth.

"I wish it surprised me more, but it doesn't surprise me enough," said Tolson Center Director Clarence Thomas. "Because you see a lot of kids who don't understand the gravity of the decisions they're making."

Thomas' hope now is that the arrests will send a clear message to other teens who might be walking down a similar road.

"Hopefully some kids out there will think about things that can happen to you when you're in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people," Thomas said.

Both teens were already in custody when they were arrested Thursday.

Love is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail on unrelated federal weapons charges that stemmed from an arrest in Elkhart on March 24, 2008. The 13-year-old was placed in custody at Elkhart County's Juvenile Justice Center on an unrelated burglary charge on May 5, 2008.

Both cases have been turned over to the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors have 72 hours from the time of Love's arrest to file formal charges against him.

The 13-year-old will appear before a juvenile judge for a status hearing on Monday, where prosecutors could request that he be charged as an adult.

Lt. Windbigler says it's still unclear whether that will happen.

"If he was 16 years old they'd probably waive him [to adult court] right away," he said. "But with his age being 13, it's going to be up to the prosecutor and judge involved to make those decisions."

WSBT was unable to reach Wenger's family for comment.