Local News

Nineveh man dies in police-involved shooting after leading pursuit and firing at police

The suspect in a multi-agency pursuit was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon after fleeing and firing on officers during the pursuit.  

 

Around 11:40 am Wednesday, Brown County authorities contacted neighboring agencies and requested officers be on the lookout for Martin Louis Douglas Jr., 30, of Nineveh. Authorities advised Douglas was despondent and may be armed. Douglas was reportedly driving his 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 Bartholomew County and attempted to stop the vehicle; however, Douglas 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 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. The pursuit continued south of Columbus, where the truck eventually struck a tire deflation device. Douglas then stopped in the roadway and fired approximately fifteen 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. Douglas then continued driving north and entered a cornfield, 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 pm Wednesday, and after an approximately five-hour standoff, 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 Douglas.  Douglas 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.

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