INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis police officer fired his weapon early Saturday while investigating gunfire in the downtown area. Neither the suspect nor the officer were injured.
According to police, officers patrolling the downtown area heard gunshots around 3:20 a.m. and searched to see where the gunfire was coming from.
“Officers located and engaged an individual, following which a shooting occurred,” according to a news release from the police department.
No one was affected.
According to police, the suspect got into a car and left the area, after which a short chase ensued. The chase ended in a collision with vehicles parked in the 800 block of North East Street. The other cars were unoccupied, police said.
After the chase, two persons of interest were arrested. A firearm was found nearby.
The officer who fired the weapon was wearing a body camera at the time, but it was not activated during the investigation, police said.
The police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting. The agency’s Internal Affairs Unit is also conducting a separate administrative investigation into the shooting.
The officer who fired the weapon is on leave, per standard procedure.
The shooting marks the second time this week that an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer has fired his weapon. On Tuesday, an officer investigating an armed carjacking fatally shot one of the suspects in a northeast side neighborhood.
2,024 police-involved shootings in Indianapolis
This is the fourth shooting in a month involving officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
the 28th of May: Jerrett Dwain Gray Jr., 20, was a suspect in an armed carjacking when he was fatally shot while trying to flee from police at the Cavalier Court apartment complex. Two firearms were found where Gray was taken into custody. One firearm carried a machine gun conversion device, commonly called a Glock switch.
15 May: Kelvin Andrew Chandler, 26, who was accused of shooting his roommate, was fatally shot during a “gunfire” with an officer in the 6500 block of Apollo Way. His roommate survived.
May 2: Lemar Brandon Qualls, 35, was shot and killed after officers were called about a person armed and pointing a gun at people in the 3900 block of Broadway Street, near 38th Street and North College Avenue. Witnesses said Qualls pointed the gun at officers, police said.
March 31st: Luis Duran-Ruano, 31, was killed after a SWAT standoff on Winston Avenue that began with a call about a man firing shots into the air near West 33rd Street and Georgetown Road.
March 24: Dominique Lamonte Durham Sr., 37, was fatally shot on March 24 during an exchange of gunfire with off-duty officers working security at an East Washington Street nightclub.
January 24: Raphael Dekemper, 41, was shot and killed during a shootout with officers on Brookside Parkway North Drive.
DOJ investigating police shootings
In mid-April, Mayor Joe Hogsett and Bailey announced that the Justice Department would conduct a comprehensive investigation into police shootings after a sharp spike in 2023 when officers were involved in 17 shootings that left someone dead or injured. No timeline was given for when the results of that assessment would be released.
Previous coverage: DOJ steps in to investigate shootings involving Indianapolis police at Chief Bailey’s request
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Officer fires gun during gunshot investigation in city. No one was hurt
