Update: 3 p.m. Thursday
A Nineveh man who was a suspect in a multi-agency pursuit was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon near State Road 58 in southern Bartholomew County after fleeing and firing on officers with an assault rifle during the pursuit.
The preliminary investigation reveals that around 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, Brown County authorities contacted neighboring agencies and requested officers be on the lookout for Martin Louis Douglas Jr., 30, of Nineveh, according to a news release from Sgt. Cary Huls, Indiana State Police spokesman.
Authorities said Martin Douglas was despondent, could be armed and was reportedly driving his maroon Ford pickup eastbound toward Bartholomew County, said Huls, who is the public information officer for the Sellersburg Post. It also was reported Douglas might possibly intend to harm one or more acquaintances.
Brown County Sheriff Scott Southerland said that his department was first made aware of Douglas after receiving a request to do a welfare check on him at around 11:15 a.m. The caller reported Douglas could be suicidal. While officers were on their way to do the check, dispatch received another call less than 10 minutes later, saying Douglas was driving south on State Road 135 North.
“We were looking for him and going through two different people before it got to our dispatch. We were not exactly sure where he was at and when because of that time delay,” Southerland said. “We didn’t have the phone number for the initial caller, the first person. They were going through somebody else who was then calling us.”
By the time officers began searching the State Road 135 North area, another call came in less than 10 minutes later saying Douglas was heading to Columbus.
“We had everyone out looking for him and we did not find him,” Southerland said.
“The next thing we heard he was eastbound on (State Road) 46. All of our people were up on 135, so we called Bartholomew County and passed the information onto them.”
At 11:33 a.m., dispatch told officers that a relative was driving behind Douglas and that the relative said he was driving 120 mph. When Douglas passed Nelson Ridge Road at 11:40 a.m. he was driving 90 mph, according to dispatch notes.
An officer with the Columbus Police Department soon spotted Douglas’s truck near County Road 450S and County Road 300W in Bartholomew County and attempted to stop the vehicle, police said.
Douglas, however, refused to stop and fled from the officer.
Other officers soon joined in the pursuit, including troopers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The pursuit continued on area roads in southwest Bartholomew County and northern Jackson County, where officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department also joined in the pursuit.
Douglas was reported to be driving erratically and at high speeds and had successfully avoided tire deflation devices placed in an attempt to stop his truck, police said.
The pursuit continued toward County Road 300W and State Road 58, near the Walesboro Exit at Interstate 65, where Douglas’ truck eventually struck a tire deflation device.
Douglas then allegedly stopped in the roadway and fired approximately 15 rounds from an AR-15 style rifle at pursuing officers.
Officers then returned fire. Investigators believe at least three police vehicles were struck by rounds from Douglas’s weapon in the altercation, including two Columbus Police Department vehicles and an Indiana State Police SUV.
At one point during the pursuit, Douglas went live on Facebook while driving. Sirens could be heard in the background. “This is going to be the last video I will post and the last anybody is going to see me in person,” he said. “I’ve asked for help from way too many people just to be given up on and left.”
Douglas continued driving north and went into a cornfield near County Road 300W and Deaver Road, stopping his truck several hundred feet off the roadway.
Officers surrounded the truck, and the Columbus Police Department SWAT team arrived a short time later. The South Zone Indiana State Police SWAT team also responded to the scene as officers attempted to negotiate with Douglas.
Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and after an approximately five-hour standoff, Douglas left his vehicle and picked up a second AR-15 style rifle from a box in the rear of his truck.
ISP SWAT team members then fired and struck Douglas, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner’s office.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
Update: 6 a.m. Thursday
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A suspect who led police on a multi-agency pursuit was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon after fleeing and firing on officers during the pursuit.
The preliminary investigation reveals that around 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, Brown County authorities contacted neighboring agencies and requested officers be on the lookout for Martin Louis Douglas Jr., 30, of Nineveh, state police said.
Authorities advised Martin Douglas was despondent and could be armed. Douglas was reportedly driving his Maroon Ford Pickup truck eastbound towards Bartholomew County and possibly intended to harm one or more acquaintances.
An officer with the Columbus Police Department soon spotted Douglas’s truck near County Road 450 South and County Road 300 West in Bartholomew County and attempted to stop the vehicle; however, Martin Douglas refused to stop and fled from the officer state police said.
Other officers soon joined in the pursuit, including troopers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The pursuit continued on area roads in southwest Bartholomew County and northern Jackson County, where Jackson County deputies also joined in the pursuit.
Douglas was reported to be driving erratically and at high speeds and had successfully avoided tire deflation devices placed in an attempt to stop his truck. The pursuit continued toward County Road 300 West and State Road 58 south of Columbus, where the truck eventually struck a tire deflation device, state police said.
Martin Douglas then stopped in the roadway and fired approximately 15 rounds from an AR-15 style rifle at pursuing officers. Officers then returned fire. I
Investigators believe at least three police vehicles were struck by rounds from Douglas’s weapon in the altercation, including two Columbus Police Department vehicles and an Indiana State Police SUV, state police said. Douglas then continued driving north and entered a cornfield near County Road 300 West and Deaver Road, stopping his truck several hundred feet off the roadway.
Officers surrounded the truck, and the Columbus Police Department SWAT team arrived a short time later. The South Zone Indiana State Police (ISP) SWAT team also responded to the scene as officers attempted to negotiate with Douglas.
Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and after an approximately five-hour standoff, Martin Douglas exited his vehicle and picked up a second AR-15 style rifle from a box in the rear of his truck. ISP SWAT team members then fired and struck Martin Douglas, state police said.
Martin Louis Douglas Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner’s office, and ISP Sellersburg Post detectives and crime scene technicians were called to investigate.
No officers were injured in the incident. This information is the result of a preliminary inquiry and this case remains under investigation as ISP detectives will conduct multiple interviews in the coming days and review any pertinent information and any possible video.
No further information is currently available.
The Indiana State Police received assistance from the Columbus Police Department, The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Decatur County Coroner’s Office.
UPDATE 5:52 PM
Police shot the suspect at 5:30 p.m. after he climbed into the bed of the vehicle. The suspect has been taken into custody at 5:52 p.m. by police and is awaiting EMS. The condition of the suspect is unknown at this time.
Original story
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff Deputies and Columbus police are at the scene of a negotiation with a driver who is believed to be suicidal, carrying weapons, who led officers on a long pursuit over the last 40 minutes.
The vehicle has stopped in a field off of Deaver Road and South County Road 400W and 300W and police are talking with the individual by phone.
No one has been injured, police reported, although police have indicated that gunfire has been exchanged between the individual and officers during the chase.
The individual has told police at the scene he has weapons.
Deaver Road and other surrounding roads have been closed by officers.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
