Man having mental health episode shot by Indianapolis police after he fires gun at family

This article has been updated to add new information.

After Yessica Torres heard gunshots in the 1100 block of Waldemere Avenue on the city's southwest side, she looked out the window and saw Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers with their guns drawn on a man.

"(He) was already on the ground," Torres said. "They were getting closer to him and then they were assisting him because he was already shot at that point."

She pulled out her phone and started recording.

She captured the moments after an officer-involved shooting where a man was on the ground, receiving aid from first responders. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said he is expected to survive.

Shots fired turned into a foot chase ending in shooting

Just before 3:40 p.m. Thursday, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to an apartment complex in the 900 block of South Kiel Avenue on a report of shots fired. At first, arriving officers didn't find anybody, but several people then called in with similar descriptions of a man they identified as the shooter.

Officers soon found a person matching that description, but he ran away while police chased him for several blocks.

In the 1100 block of Waldemere Avenue, police say, the suspect fired at least one shot at an approaching officer who was in his vehicle. Another officer who was chasing the suspect on foot fired rounds at the suspect, striking him one time and grazing his neck.

The man was transported to an area hospital in stable condition. Video shot by people at the scene showed the man talking to medics while being wheeled away on a stretcher.

The man was having a mental health episode

Police later learned the suspect had fired at least three rounds in the apartment complex's parking lot after pointing a gun at family members.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey said officers believe the suspect was having a mental health episode.

"This individual was having some sort of issues," Bailey said. "I don't know to what extent. I don't know of any diagnoses, but it was certainly odd behavior that we were seeing tonight. There's a lot of people in our community that are suffering from mental health and other crisis."

Bailey said the department offers mental health resources to help officers cope with their challenges, adding that those same resources aren't available to the community.

"That's part of the problem," Bailey said. "They don't know how to get the help they need, they don't know where to get the help they need, they can't afford the help they need or they don't have the support at home to get the help they need. Unfortunately, the one group that works 24 hours a day, they don't deserve to be put in that position to have to deal with these individuals."

Bailey said people can call 988 for someone who is having a mental health crisis. However, if the person has a gun pointed at others or is firing shots into the air, police need to get involved.

"So, we'd rather people get the help they need and the services they deserve before it gets to the point where you're pointing a gun in someone's face allegedly and then firing rounds in the area and then firing a round at an officer," Bailey said. "Which results in you being shot."

Bailey said the lack of mental health support is a bigger societal problem that has to be addressed.

No officers were injured in Thursday's shooting. Police said they recovered a gun at the scene.

The man is facing preliminary charges.

This is the department's second officer-involved shooting this month and happened within the last eight days.

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Shootings involving Indianapolis police in 2024

Thursday's shooting marked the 15th of the year. There were 18 shootings involving Indianapolis police in 2023.

Dec. 4: A person carrying a machete was shot by police responding to a disturbance with a weapon at an industrial park off Brookville Road on the city's southeast side. Two other people suffered non-fatal stab wounds.

Nov. 14: A driver was shot by police after hitting an officer with an SUV in a CVS parking lot on North Meridian Street. The officers were called to CVS to check on a person in the vehicle before the shooting. The person shot and the officer were in stable condition.

Oct. 27: A man who jumped into a woman's vehicle and held her at gunpoint was in critical but stable condition after being shot by Indianapolis police. Julius Hill, 25, was shot by veteran officer Joseph Beasley after the woman stopped her car and got out to alert nearby officers at the intersection of 11th Street and Kealing Avenue that she was being held hostage. Hill's family told police he suffers from schizophrenia.

Sept. 11: Officers were involved in a shooting while responding to a hostage situation on the north side of Indianapolis. No police officers were injured, and the man shot by police was reported to be in stable condition at a local hospital.

Aug. 23: What started as a search warrant for narcotics, ultimately ended in Kentrail Small, 40, being shot and killed. At about 10:30 a.m. SWAT officers were attempting to serve a search warrant at the Park Terrace Motel, 9025 Pendleton Pike, in Lawrence. SWAT forced their way into the room and a struggle ensued as police attempted to handcuff Small. Police said Small got away and grabbed a Draco firearm, at which point officers fatally shot him.

July 2: Police responding to a call about a person shot encountered Richard Dale Bures, 86, who they say pointed a weapon at them just after 11:30 a.m. in the 5100 block of West Vermont Street, just off North Lynhurst Drive. Bures pointed the firearm at officers multiple times, and two officers fired their weapons. Detectives located a revolver but no evidence of another person shot. They also found a note stating the man wanted to commit suicide, police said. Bures survived the encounter and was criminally charged and his case remains pending.

June 25: Elijah Hakiem Radford, 45, was suspected of shooting a woman before leading police on a multi-mile chase that culminated in Castleton. Body camera footage shows him entering an apartment and holding a knife next to a screaming woman moments before he was fatally shot.

June 1: An officer fired their weapon while investigating gunshots downtown about 3:20 a.m. Neither the suspect nor the officer were injured.

May 28: Jerrett Dwain Gray Jr., 20, was a suspect in an armed carjacking when he was fatally shot while trying to flee police in 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.

May 15: Kelvin Andrew Chandler, 26, who was accused of shooting his roommate, was fatally shot in an "exchange of 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 weapon at people in the 3900 block of Broadway Street, near 38th Street and North College Avenue. Witnesses said Qualls pointed the weapon at officers, according to police.

March 31: Luis Duran-Ruano, 31, was killed after a SWAT standoff on Winston Avenue that started 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 March 24 in an exchange of gunfire with off-duty officers working security at a nightclub on East Washington Street.

Jan. 24: Raphael Dekemper, 41, was shot and killed in a shootout with officers on Brookside Parkway North Drive.

DOJ investigation into Indianapolis police shootings

In mid-April Mayor Joe Hogsett and Bailey announced the Department of Justice would conduct an extensive review of shootings by police after a sharp spike in 2023 when officers were involved in 17 shootings that killed or injured someone. A timeline for when the results of that review would be released hasn't been provided.

Past coverage: DOJ steps in to review shootings involving Indianapolis police at Chief Bailey's request

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON. Communities Reporter, Ryan Murphy, contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Man having mental health episode shot by police after firing gun