Trending Topics

Knife-wielding man chases person around casino, fires gun at Ind. officers before fatal OIS

Lawrenceburg officers found the man in a hallway, armed with a handgun; police told the man to put down the gun, but he started shooting at the officers, who fired back and hit him

By Mitchell Willetts
The Charlotte Observer

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — A knife-wielding man accused of chasing a person around an Indiana casino opened fire on responding police officers, then was shot to death, officials say.

Officers with the Lawrenceburg Police Department went to the Hollywood Casino and Hotel at about 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, after receiving a call that “an adult male was threatening and pursuing another person with a knife,” Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Shortly after the three officers arrived at the casino, the man began firing a gun on the fourth floor, and they headed upstairs to confront him, police said.

Officers found the man in a hallway, armed with a handgun, according to investigators. Police told the man to put down the gun, but he started shooting at the officers, who fired back and hit him, state police said.

The man, who police have not publicly identified, died at the scene. None of the officers were injured, police said, adding that they’ve been put on leave while an investigation is conducted.

The person he was accused of chasing with a knife suffered minor injuries.

Police don’t believe the man knew the victim, and it’s unclear what motivated the attack.

Indiana State Police are investigating the shooting, the agency said.

Lawrenceburg is very near Indiana’s border with Ohio, and is a roughly 100-mile drive southeast from Indianapolis.

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC..

Trending
Most readers said where an officer lives should not determine where they can serve, pointing to housing costs, staffing shortages and changing expectations
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin has maintained he has no intention of dissolving the county’s prison

Bobo, a longtime Ranger and crime-scene investigator, will lead the division beginning Sept. 1; Kip Westmoreland has been promoted to assistant chief
The suspect, who had also rigged an IED in the apartment, was arrested by Oklahoma County Sheriff’s deputies after the bomb squad responded and deactivated the devices