News release from the Fort Wayne Police Department:
Barricaded Hostage Situation/Officer Involved Shooting
Date: October 6, 2016
Time: 11:07 pm
Location: 5300 block of North Stony Run Lane
Suspect: Adult male / critical condition
Victim: Young child / unharmed
(October 7, 2016) – On October 6, 2016, at 11:07 pm, officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a home in the 5300 block of North Stony Run Lane on a report of a disturbance between a man and woman. As officers arrived on scene, an adult male, who was armed with a knife, grabbed a very young child and retreated into the home, refusing to come out. The female half was able to escape.
Officers began negotiating with the male trying to convince him to surrender and release the child, but the male refused. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to convince the male to exit, the Emergency Services Team (EST) and Crisis Response Team (CRT) were summoned.
Negotiators began trying to contact the male, but were not getting much response. EST members delivered a throw phone – a phone that allows direct communication to the hostage negotiators – into the house, but the suspect refused to answer that phone. Officers also used loud speakers to ask the suspect to speak with negotiators. EST members then threw a different type of phone into the house, which the suspect finally used to contact police.
Negotiators began speaking with the suspect for several hours, and planned to negotiate as long as it would take to end the situation peacefully. However, shortly before 5:00am, the suspect made statements that led officers to believe he was going to harm the child. Since the safety of the child was the top priority, EST members made entry into the home, and immediately found the male armed with two large edged weapons, standing over the child. The officers were forced to make a split second decision to save the child’s life, which led to the officers firing shots at the male, striking him. He was determined to be in critical condition at the scene, and was taken to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Due to the quick actions of the EST members, the child was unharmed.
The male suspect and female are boyfriend and girlfriend, and both resided in the home. The exact relationship of the child is to be determined. The officer involved shooting will be investigated per our protocol, which includes a dual investigation with the Indiana State Police. Due to the traumatic experience, the involved officer(s) will be placed on administrative leave per policy to cope with the incident, and to allow the investigation to take course to ensure all protocols were followed.
Any charges that the male may face will be determined by the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office.
The number of officers involved, as well as number of shots, and the identity of the suspect will be released at the appropriate time. The incident remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Indiana State Police.
There is nothing further at this time.
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