INDIANAPOLIS — Metro police on Wednesday said seven officers fired shots after a 21-year-old man opened fire on officers following a brief pursuit on Tuesday afternoon on the city's northeast side.
According to a report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers from IMPD's SWAT Quick Response Force, along with officers, detectives and ATF agents from the Crime Gun Intelligence Center, were tracking the man, who is wanted on two felony robbery warrants stemming from community corrections violations. The man is also wanted for questioning in an ongoing homicide investigation, police said.
READ MORE | IMPD: Man critically injured in shooting after firing shots at Indy police officers
WRTV is not identifying the suspect because he has not been formally charged by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office stemming from Tuesday's incident.
On Tuesday at approximately 2:54 p.m., officers identified the man in a vehicle that was traveling south in the 3300 block of Forest Manor Avenue. The officers conducted a traffic stop and the vehicle briefly stopped before fleeing southbound for a short distance. Officers used a pursuit intervention technique to stop the vehicle.
The man, who was the front-seat passenger in the vehicle, got out of the vehicle and began shooting at officers, striking an occupied police vehicle several times, police said. During the exchange of gunfire, seven officers fired their weapons, police said.
Police said the man was struck by gunfire from the officers and rendered aid by a SWAT medic who was on scene until Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services arrived and took him to the hospital. The man was initially listed in critical condition, however, police said his condition has been upgraded to stable.
Police said at least three officers were equipped with body-worn cameras which were activated during the incident. None of the officers were injured.
The female driver of the vehicle was detained and taken to a local hospital for a check out and was later released from the hospital, police said.
The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team is conducting the criminal investigation along with the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.
The officers involved are on administrative leave, which is standard procedure when an officer fires their duty weapon.
During a public safety walk on Wednesday near the scene of a January mass shooting at 34th and Adams streets, both IMPD Chief Randal Taylor and Mayor Joe Hogsett spoke about Tuesday's incident.
"I think the lesson learned from last night, the lesson that needs to be repeated as often as we can is do not point a gun at a police officer. Ever," Hogsett said. "Because it's not going to work out for you under any circumstance. That doesn't mean there's always going to be gunfire but simply refrain from pointing a gun at a police officer and whatever needs to be resolved will be resolved peacefully and no one would get hurt."
"Unfortunately, he chose to run and ultimately fired at our officers," Taylor said. "Fortunately none of our officers were hurt. He did surv...he did experience being shot. Last I heard he was in critical condition but we of course hope he will survive those injuries but he's going to have some charges he's going to have to answer to."
