Two Indianapolis police officers are recovering Thursday after a shootout with a suspect who was armed with an AR-15 and had refused to pull over, leading to a pursuit.
The Indiana Crime Guns Task Force, working with the Lawrence Police Department, attempted to pull over a vehicle around 12:40 p.m. near 30th and Post as part of an investigation.
The driver refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. Law enforcement attempted to disable the vehicle but were unsuccessful.
The vehicle eventually turned into a business lot with a dead end and attempted to drive off-road but became lodged in a gap between the business and a fence.
The driver then fired upon four law enforcement officers, who returned fire. The suspect – only identified as a 46-year-old man – was killed in the exchange.
Two of the four officers were injured and taken to Eskenazi Hospital. Both are expected to survive.
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A passenger in the lodged vehicle attempted to flee but was apprehended by Indianapolis police officers a short time later.
Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said the AR-15 left the police car riddled with bullets.
“We were lucky today,” Bailey said. “The bullets went through the metal of the car. There’s part of the car that’s peeled back. That’s how powerful [the weapon] is.”
The shootout followed other shootings Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
“We are fed up with it. The community should be fed up with it,” Bailey said. “And we have two officers that are lucky to be alive today. And they’re doing exactly what we want them to do. Despite all the odds. Despite everything that’s stacked up against them. Despite all the criticism they take every single day. They put on the uniform today and went out to get the people who are terrorizing our neighborhoods. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.”
