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Indiana State Police are investigating after Carmel police officers responding to a welfare check shot an armed 18-year-old male.
The teen was listed in stable, but critical, condition. The officers involved were not hurt.
About 6:30 p.m., Hamilton County 911 received a call from a family member requesting a welfare check on an 18-year-old who was suicidal. The caller provided real-time location information as the teen drove through Westfield and Carmel.
Within minutes, two officers located the Toyota Tacoma described by the caller on the shoulder of U.S. 31 north of 116th Street, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine.
The 18-year-old “immediately stepped out of the vehicle” and pointed a rifle at the officers, Perrine said. Both officers fired, striking the 18-year-old multiple times.
Carmel Police Chief Drake Sterling said two Carmel officers were involved in the shooting. Indiana State Police were called in to investigate, per the department’s protocol.
“This isn’t an easy encounter for anyone,” Perrine said. “This … has an extreme ripple effect on a lot of people, to include the victim -the suspect- and his family, the officers that are involved, those officers’ families, this community, this police agency, all the investigators you see behind me, these aren’t things that we forget. These aren’t images that we forget. These aren’t incidents that we forget. And so the ripple effect of these, it’s not just something that goes away. It’s something we take very seriously. And it weighs heavy on our heart for a very long time.”
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Suspect in custody after Carmel police shooting, ISP says
Reporting by Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
