INDIANAPOLIS — Court documents have shed light on how a bloodied man, who allegedly forced a woman and her young niece out of their own car at gunpoint after a crash, was shot by IMPD officers near Kessler Boulevard last month.
Shortly after 4 p.m. on March 29, IMPD officers responded to a carjacking that had happened at West 56th Street and Georgetown Road.
A woman told police she was in her boyfriend's car when she saw a gold Cadillac run a red light on 56th Street and hit a Chevy Cruze. She also saw the Cadillac hit a nearby Schwann's truck.
The Cadillac involved in the collision then went west and stopped to her left in a curb lane on West 56 Street near Georgetown.
At that point, the woman decided to try and help the driver who had been hit by the Cadillac. She locked the doors of her own car for her niece's safety and approached the other driver.
She said she soon realized someone was forcing their way out of the passenger side front door of the car and saw the woman sprint away. She wasn't sure why the woman was running away, but she thought she should go back to her own car for her niece's safety.
That's when Michael Barnes, 33, approached their car. Still bloody from the recent crash, the woman said Barnes reportedly had a gun in his waistband.
When the woman put her hand on the gearshift to put the car in drive, Barnes allegedly drew the gun, pointed it directly at her face and said, "Don't do it."
She told him not to shoot her, and he allegedly told her to get out of the car.
The woman told Barnes that her niece was in the back of the car, and asked him to at least let her get the child out first. She got out, went around the car and took her niece out of the booster seat.
Barnes then allegedly told the woman, "Sorry," and fled northbound on Georgetown Road in the her Impala.
But the driver of the Schwann's truck had reportedly seen Barnes scrambling out of the Cadillac with a pistol in his hand and immediately called police.
Around 4:15 pm, an IMPD officer saw a vehicle that matched the description of the carjacked Impala near West 62nd Street and Cooper Road.
He activated his lights and attempted to stop the Impala, which fled eastbound on West 62 Street and then south on Michigan Road.
Barnes reportedly turned west onto Kessler Boulevard and was going 80 miles per hour, according to officers. Police said Barnes wove through several roads before finally heading south on Kessler Boulevard, where his speed allegedly increased to 100 miles per hour.
When he reached the south end of the bridge over Interstate 65 and 38th Street, police said Barnes turned right onto the on-ramp of eastbound 38th Street and southbound I-65, before coming to a stop at the end of the ramp.
An IMPD officer stopped his car about 25 yards behind the Impala. The officer got out of his car and drew his gun. Another officer stopped to the right of the other officer's car, and also got out of his car and drew his pistol.
Barnes reportedly opened the door and exited the car. Police claim Barnes turned to his left and faced the officers, while raising the pistol the woman earlier said he threatened her with. IMPD officers said Barnes pointed his gun at one of them.
Officers fired their weapons, hitting Barnes multiple times. When he was taken into custody, police said they "immediately" provided the suspect with aid.
Barnes was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for treatment. Police said the pistol seen in Barnes' hands during the shooting was recovered at the scene.
Officers also found Barnes was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious felon in Grant County in 2020.
