Prosecutor: Officer who shot armed motorist was justified
This photo provided by The Indiana State Police, police investigate a shooting late Monday, May 16, 2022 near Palmyra, Ind. Two men were fatally shot after a police officer and two good Samaritans stopped along a southern Indiana highway to help a driver who was stopped in the roadway, police said. The shooting happened Monday night after an officer with the Palmyra Police Department stopped to assist the “apparent stranded motorist” on State Road 135, Indiana State Police said, but they didn’t say what precipitated the gunfire or who fired the shots. (The Indiana State Police via AP)
CORYDON, Ind. (AP) — A prosecutor says a southern Indiana police officer who fatally shot a stranded motorist who opened fire on him was justified in doing so.
The News and Tribune reports Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk said during a news conference Wednesday that the Palmyra Police Department reserve police officer nearly was struck by a shotgun blast fired by 31-year-old Justin Moore, of Owensboro, Kentucky.
Indiana State Police on Wednesday identified the officer as Reserve Officer Zachary Holly. The shotgun blast Monday night killed 24-year-old Jacob Tyler McClanahan, a volunteer firefighter from Corydon, Indiana, who had stopped to help. It remains unclear why Moore opened fire on the others.
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