Officer Involved Shooting 200 blk E Missouri St.

Officer Involved Shooting 200 blk E Missouri St.

On March 20th, around 12:26 p.m., Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Deputies assigned to the United States Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force were attempting to serve a Felony No Bond PTR Warrant in the 200 block of E Missouri St. Upon making initial contact with the suspect at the residence, the suspect displayed a firearm and threatened deputies. The suspect barricaded himself inside the home with the firearm. 

A female who was also inside the residence was able to safely get out of the house and speak with deputies. The female told deputies that the suspect had a firearm. According to the female, the suspect had been awake for about 24 hours and used his last gram of meth just as law enforcement was making initial contact. 

The suspect made comments on Facebook Live that he was turning on the gas inside the residence. There was concern that he was trying to blow up the residence or burn it down. The Evansville Fire Department was called to stage nearby. Officers were able to safely turn off the gas to the residence. A VCSO Negotiator was called out to the scene and Evansville Police Officers were requested to help secure a perimeter around the residence. After several hours of negotiations and attempts to get the suspect to surrender, chemical munitions were deployed inside the residence. The suspect was the only person in the home at this time 

The Evansville Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) was requested for assistance. An EPD Negotiator also arrive on scene to assist and an EPD Drone was utilized. Officers attempted for two more hours to have the suspect surrender peacefully but he still refused to comply. EPD SWAT deployed more chemical munitions inside the residence. 

Officers on the outside of the residence saw the suspect burst through the siding and was partially hanging out of the west side of the house. The decision was made to send in a team of EPD SWAT officers to try to take him into custody. Once the SWAT Team entered the residence, the suspect moved locations. Officers and deputies on the outside of the residence then saw the suspect brandish a gun in a second-story window on the east side of the home. The suspect also put the handgun inside of his mouth. The drone was able to record the suspect at the window with the gun in his hand. Officers and deputies on the outside of the residence continued to give loud, verbal commands. An officer got on the radio to let the SWAT officers inside the residence know that the suspect had just shown a gun and moved away from the window. 

While the SWAT team was staged at the bottom of the stairwell inside the residence, they could hear 

the suspect yelling and throwing things around at the top of the stairs. The team stayed at the bottom of the 

stairway for several minutes and tried negotiating with the suspect. Eventually, the suspect appeared at the top of the stairway with a gun in his hand. One of the officers fired a shot at the suspect. The suspect ran away and the officers ran up the stairway after the suspect. The officers inside the residence lost sight of the suspect once they got to the top of the stairway. 

An EPD Officer, who was on the outside of the residence, saw the suspect jump out of the second story window, onto a balcony. The officer believed the suspect had the gun in his hand. That officer fired two shots at the suspect. The officers on the inside of the residence found the suspect laying on the balcony with the gun still in his hand. The suspect had been shot. Officers pulled the suspect away from the gun. An EPD officer, who is also a medic for the SWAT Team, applied a chest seal on the suspect and began life-saving measures until AMR was able to get to the suspect. They also attempted life-saving measures. The suspect did pass away at the scene. He has been identified by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office as 37-year-old Gary Youngblood. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22. 

The EPD Officers involved in the shooting were given 3 days off, which is normal protocol for officers involved in a shooting or critical incident. Peer and Family Support Team services were offered to the officers and their families. The Employee Assistance Program is another service that is offered to officers who are involved in a shooting or critical incident. 

This standoff lasted over 7 hours. Although the end goal in this type of situation is to resolve it as peacefully as possible, we also have to take officer safety into consideration. The suspect brandished a gun on multiple occasions throughout the incident as well as threatened to shoot officers. For over 7 hours, officers from multiple agencies tried to negotiate with the suspect. Non-lethal equipment was also used in hopes to get the suspect to surrender. We would like to thank the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, Evansville Fire Department, the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office, the US Marshal Service along with their Task Force Officers, AMR, and Central Dispatch for their assistance with this incident.