FORTVILLE — Officials with the Fortville Police Department are looking for a man who they say shot and critically wounded another man Sunday afternoon at a home in the 300 block of Park Creek Lane, near West Staat and West Garden streets.
Officials were called to the 400 block of Thomas Point Drive, Fortville around 1:30 p.m. Sunday with reports of shots fired.
Investigators took reports from witnesses who said a car pulled up to a house in the 300 block of Park Creek Lane and opened fire on an individual in the new subdivision.
Fortville chief of police Patrick Bratton said a man was shot in the face and was listed in critical condition, but had stable vital conditions as of Monday afternoon at St. Vincent Hospital while the suspect was still at large.
“Right now we are still early in the investigation,” Bratton said. “We don’t want to release too much information just yet.”
Bratton did say when his officer arrived on the scene law enforcement found one gunshot victim with a wound to the face. According to officials, the man fired back after he was shot.
“There was an exchange of gun fire,” Bratton said. “I don’t know if he went back inside to get a gun or had a gun on him, but there was an exchange.”
The suspect fled the scene but was found and followed by officials from the McCordsville Police Department in what Bratton called a short pursuit.
“They terminated the pursuit due to safety concerns for the community,” Bratton said. “It was a nice day, and there were a ton of people out… Just too many cars and people out there to do a pursuit safely.”
Lawrence police officials picked up the vehicle as it made its way to Indianapolis, officials said, but eventually they too lost sight of the suspect’s car.
“The only thing we have right now is a vehicle description,” Bratton said. “We’ve got a bunch of videos people have emailed us today (Monday).”
Officials believe the shooting was an isolated incident involving two people who knew each other but did not live in the Fortville area.
“The man shot did not live in the Fortville but came to visit here,” Bratton said. “We don’t think it was a random drive-by, and we believe they knew each other. We just don’t know how they knew each other just yet.”
Reports say the man who was shot eventually made his way to a nearby house for help on Thomas Point Drive, a road that connects to Park Creek Lane in the new subdivision.
“We’re following up on all the different leads and making sure we do our due diligence to bring whoever did this to justice,” Bratton said.
The Fortville Police Department is taking the lead on the investigation while officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the McCordsville Police Department assisted in helping collect evidence.
