Indiana State Police (ISP) arrested a 16-year-old male suspect earlier this week after he allegedly fired shots into the residence of a police chief.
The arrest came Tuesday following an investigation by ISP detectives, who responded to reports of a shooting at the home of Clarksville, Indiana, Police Chief Mark Palmer on Sept. 18, according a press release.
No one was injured during the incident, but investigators found shell casings indicating seven rounds had been fired at the house from a 9mm, and that several of the rounds struck and entered Palmer’s residence.
The suspect, whose identity has not been released because he is a juvenile, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of recklessness with a firearm, which is a level 5 felony.
Investigators discovered the suspect after taking surveillance footage to Clarksville Senior High School, where a staff member identified a student based on “the way he walked and ran,” according to local WHAS11 News.
The staff member also tipped off police that the teenager was friends with a student from neighboring New Albany High School, whose white vehicle appeared to be the same one seen in the video, the local outlet reported.
When police questioned the New Albany student, he acknowledged that he went to the police chief’s home and that someone had fired shots, but claimed he only went there to fight another teenager. That teen reportedly said he had given the other one the wrong address, instead giving him that of the police chief with the intention of getting him in trouble.
Following the investigation conducted with the assistance of the Clarksville Police Department and the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, the ISP obtained an arrest warrant for the New Albany student.
If convicted of attempted murder, the unidentified 16-year-old potentially faces 80 years in prison, 40 years for each charge.
Jim Bard, Palmer’s neighbor, told WHAS11 News that he wants to move away from Clarksville, his home of 20 years, because of rising violence that he fears will endanger his family.
“Now that it’s here, it’s unavoidable,” Baird told the outlet. “I’m worried about it.”
“If I didn’t have kids I could deal with it better, but I feel like I need to protect my family and do whatever I have to do,” he added.