Gunman barricaded in Fishers apartment for hours is found dead
Note: Video with this story was posted before police announced the suspect was found dead.
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Police said Monday night they have found a suspect dead after being barricaded with a gun inside a Fishers apartment.
The suspect was barricaded in an apartment east of the intersection of State Road 37 and 141st Street sometime midafternoon Monday, said Sgt. Tom Weger, a spokesman for the department. Police would not elaborate if anyone else was found inside the apartment.
Police said they were fired upon, but they don’t believe any officers fired at the suspect.
As police tried to reach the suspect for hours, the majority of the affected apartment building was evacuated. Other residents of The Woods of Britton Apartment Homes were told to shelter in place. Many were locked in their apartments with their kids, or nearby calling and Skyping to try to keep spouses or kids calm.
A boom heard in the area before 4:40 p.m. was an attempt by police to break into the apartment where the suspect is located.
Officers had been called a little earlier to that apartment for a welfare check and that’s when a man began shooting at them. Without releasing a name, police said they knew who they were dealing with. They tried to contact him for several hours without any success. Around 6:20 p.m. or so, police were able to make entry and found him dead inside the apartment.
One man who talked to News 8 was worried. He and his family just moved there last summer, and his wife and daughter were locked in a nearby bathroom in their second-floor apartment.
In fact, Monday was his daughter’s ninth birthday.
“I’m just hoping everything is going to okay. Scared. They got it surrounded, so I’m pretty sure they’ll be okay. It’s been a crazy week. Definitely not how I thought my daughter was going to spend her birthday,” said Andrew Maynard.
Police believe they know who the suspect is but are not identifying the person.
They’re also not saying if there was anyone else inside that apartment. And while Fishers police are not saying how the suspect died, they said they don’t believe officers fired any shots throughout the standoff.
Coronavirus did play a small role in this, too.
With so many more people forced home from work and school, there were a lot more people in their apartments than otherwise might be. As many as they could evacuated, but not everyone could get out of their apartment.
Video from the scene showed police staged outside the entrance to residential areas east of State Road 37 on 141st Street. People were asked to avoid the area. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, police said.