BATESVILLE, Ind. — Indiana State Police have identified the man killed by officers in Batesville after he shot at police during an hours-long standoff.
This situation resulted in an officer involved shooting where the suspect was shot by police. No officers were injured. ISP will be lead investigating agency. I will be on scene shortly. https://t.co/PVQ9315FDt
— Sgt. Stephen Wheeles (@ISPVersailles) November 16, 2020
ISP Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said Batesville Police received a call from a woman for a domestic disturbance on Brindlewood Trace around 8 a.m. Wheeles said the officers who responded removed the woman and three small children from the house.
Officers said they attempted to make contact with a man in the garage before he opened fired on officers from inside the house. Officers said the man, later identified as 32-year-old Joshua D. Evans, remained barricaded inside the house throughout the morning.
ISP said Evans exited the garage around 11:30 a.m. armed with a handgun.
Three troopers with the ISP SWAT Team and a Greensburg Police officer fired shots at Evans, with one shot striking him. Evans was transported to Margaret Mary Hospital in Batesville, where he later died. Wheeles said one officer was struck by debris and sustained minor injuries.
“We're in a small community -- it’s tragic when this happens anywhere," Wheeles told reporters. "Obviously we don’t want it to happen anywhere, but a lot of times in the smaller communities everyone knows each other.”
ISP took the lead on the SWAT response and was assisted by Batesville Police. ISP is conducting an investigation, with an autopsy performed Tuesday in Hamilton County. Those autopsy and toxicology results are pending. Police did not release the names of the officers involved.
“Obviously, the other individuals at the residence play a huge role in giving us crucial information about why this happened, and what took place prior to police officers getting involved," Wheeles said.
