Police, rape suspect exchange gunfire

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers shot a rape suspect Friday afternoon on the city’s southeast side.

Friday night police identified the suspect as 25-year-old Sherman Smith. Currently he’s being held preliminarily on abduction and rape related charges stemming from an earlier event Friday.

Officials say Smith will be released soon and then taken to the Arrestee Processing Center.

Police had been searching for the man after a woman reported that he kidnapped and raped her . Officers reportedly found his car Friday afternoon in a wooded area near Van Buren Street and Perkins Avenue.

As officers approached the man, they say he fired shots at them. The suspect, a man in his 20's, was struck in the hand as officers returned gunfire. He was taken to a Wishard Hospital in good condition. Police have not released his name.

Members of the IMPD Critical Incident Response Team, along with Beech Grove Police are gathering evidence from the scene.