A black man was shot by police outside his own home after he called them to help deal with a robbery.
Carl Williams (48) called 911 at around 4.30am to report that his wife had been the victim of an attempted carjacking in the driveway of their home in Indiana.
When police arrived, they mistook Williams for the attacker and shot him in the stomach.
Assistant chief Randal Taylor, of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said officers approached the house “quietly and tactically” because of the circumstances of the call. Police said this was standard practice.
Taylor said officers saw the car which had been reported stolen still on the driveway and one of them fired shots soon after. Reports suggest Williams had emerged from the garage holding a gun, but police did not confirm this at their press conference.
It’s unclear if any words were exchanged before the shooting took place, but there’s no suggestion that Williams was acting in a threatening way towards the officers.
Taylor said: “They made observations based on information known at that time. The time of day, the early morning hours and low level lighting caused vision to be limited.
“The officers involved were forced to make a split second decision based on the information and totality of the circumstances known at the time.”
The officer involved has been named as Christopher Mills, who has been on the force for five years.
Williams was taken to hospital to receive treatment on his stomach injury. He was in a serious condition, according to police – but expected to survive.
The suspect in the initial robbery has not been found.