 Around 10:35 a.m. officers were dispatched to the 1300-block of N. Third Avenue for a 911 hang-up. A male called Central Dispatch saying ‘they are killing people’ and refused to answer further questions from the dispatchers. An EPD officer arrived and spoke with a female at the door about the condition of the caller.
When the officer entered the residence, he located the male in a bedroom. The male had a knife in his hand and refused to put it down after the officer gave him numerous commands to do so. The male then went into an adjacent room and sat down on a chair with the blanket covering the knife in his hand. The officer continued to tell the male to put the knife down; the male refused to put the weapon down and appeared to be in a state of distress. An assisting officer arrived on the scene at that time. After refusing to put his knife down the male lunged toward the officers. One officer deployed his taser at that time in an attempt to subdue the subject but the taser was unsuccessful. The subject then advanced at one of the officers with the knife still in his hand. A second EPD officer fired his duty-issued handgun at least one time, striking the male.Â
Officers attempted life-saving measures, prior to AMR’s arrival but were unsuccessful. The male was pronounced deceased at the scene. The officer who fired his duty weapon has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation, which is standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting. The officers involved in this run were not physically injured.
The name of the decedent will be released by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office pending an autopsy.Â
