Police: Man Stabs 2 Indianapolis Officers Before He Is Shot

Police: Man Stabs 2 Indianapolis Officers Before He Is Shot
File photo of a police car. (Diego Parra/Pixabay)
The Associated Press
12/1/2021
Updated:
12/1/2021

INDIANAPOLIS—A man armed with multiple knives stabbed two Indianapolis police officers early Wednesday before they shot and wounded him, authorities said.

Officers responding to a reported disturbance about 1 a.m. came in contact with the man, who said another person was harassing him. Officers told the man they would attempt to locate the other person, but when they walked away police said he attacked them.

One officer was stabbed in the neck and the other in the back in the “unprovoked attack,” said Chris Bailey, assistant chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Both officers shot at the man, who was hospitalized in stable condition, police said in a statement. The officers were taken to a hospital and were listed in stable condition. Bailey said one of the officers underwent surgery.

No one else was injured. Names of those involved weren’t immediately released.

Bailey said multiple officers had body cameras operating at the time of the attack and he had viewed footage from one of the officers.

“It’s disturbing and it is heroic all at the same time,” he said of the footage during a news briefing.

A police report filed in the case indicates a 20-year-old man was arrested and is facing two preliminary charges of attempted murder.

Bailey said officers had not found anyone who had been harassing the suspect, but that remains under investigation. He said the suspect had called 911 to report the alleged harassment and when officers arrived the man directed officers to a residence that appeared to be vacant.

The attack on the officers, which occurred in a neighborhood just south of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is under investigation, police said, and a separate investigation is being conducted by administrative affairs.

The officers who fired shots have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases.