INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis police officer shot and killed a man who was reportedly holding a woman hostage inside the cab of a semi Thursday evening.
Officers responded to a 911 call around 7:20 p.m. Nov. 30 reporting a disturbance in a parking lot near the McDonald's restaurant in the 4900 block of Knights Way, near Interstate 69 and Interstate 465 on the southwest side. According to IMPD, officers at the scene spoke with the person who called 911, who pointed out the semi where the disturbance was occurring, saying they could hear a woman yelling for help.
According to IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey, officers knocked on the semi and a man came out from behind a partition that divided the cab of the semi. The man sat in the driver's seat for a moment, then retreated back behind the partition, where officers said they heard a woman scream.
Officers surrounded the truck and announced for those inside the cab to come out. Moments later, Bailey said officers broke the window of the cab to better see and hear what was going on inside.
An IMPD lieutenant then opened the door and talked to the man, who reportedly told police he was holding a knife to a woman's throat. The man reportedly made statements to officers saying he was "going to kill her."
Bailey said the lieutenant entered the cab of the semi and saw the woman bleeding. He said video from a body camera shows the male suspect on top of the woman inside the cab.
The officer, later identified as 26-year veteran Lt. Brandon Mills, fired a shot, striking the man, who was pronounced dead inside the truck.
On Friday, Dec. 1, the Marion County Coroner's Office identified the man as 60-year-old Lamont Bland.
The woman received medical attention at the scene for several lacerations and was taken to the IMPD Homicide Office to be interviewed about what happened. Officers found a razor blade with blood on it inside the sleeping compartment of the cab.
In an update Dec. 4, IMPD said "the victim told detectives that before intervention from officers, the suspect pulled her into the cabin of the semi-truck, held her against her will there for hours and the suspect claimed the victim had stolen something from him previously."
The woman told police she did not know the suspect, IMPD said.
Thursday night's shooting marks the 17th time that an IMPD officer has shot a person this year. At this point, 10 of those people have died. This was the 13th officer-involved shooting since Aug. 1.
Mills has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy, pending an investigation by IMPD Internal Affairs, then by a civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call IMPD Det. Sgt. Erika Jones at 317-327-3475, or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana anonymously at 317-262-TIPS.