Indianapolis officers fire at armed man, say it’s unclear if he was wounded by officers or shot self

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis police fired shots at a man who had pointed a handgun at officers after he allegedly called 911 and reported that a person had been shot, police said Tuesday.

The man was hospitalized in critical condition with gunshot wounds, but it was not immediately clear if he was shot by officers’ gunfire or if he had shot himself, said Assistant Chief Michael Wolley of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Officers were called about 11:30 a.m. to the city’s west side after receiving a 911 call about a person hurt by gunfire. When officers arrived, Wolley said they encountered a man outside a home who was armed with a handgun, which he pointed at them.

He said officers took cover and “told the suspect over 16 times to drop the gun.”

“Multiple officers reported the suspect pointed the gun at them multiple times” before two IMPD officers fired their weapons, Wolley told reporters at a briefing.

Officers then approached the suspect and saw he had injuries consistent with gunshot wounds, but he said it remains unclear if those were self-inflicted or were caused by officers’ shots.

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No officers were injured in the shooting.

Wolley said the suspect placed the initial 911 call about a person being shot and reported that he had been shot and described “the alleged shooter as a white male wearing a white T-shirt.”

Wolley said the suspect the officers found outside the home “was a white male wearing a white shirt.”

He said detectives found a note in the man’s home “stating that the suspect planned to commit suicide” and that the man told responding medics “he shot himself multiple times and that he wanted to die.”

The two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative duty, a routine step following shootings involving police officers.