INDIANAPOLIS — The victim of a shooting on the northwest side of Indianapolis said the suspect – her husband – tried to shoot her in the head, but the gun wouldn't fire.
Charminca told 13News reporter Chase Houle she was leaving an office complex on Wesleyan Road, near North Michigan Road and West 86th Street, around 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 25 when her husband, 45-year-old Elijah Radford, ambushed her with a rifle.
She said Radford shot her in the hand.
As she was running back inside for help, Charminca said he knocked her down and pointed a gun to her head. But when he pulled the trigger, the gun jammed.
As she got up to run inside, she couldn't pull the door open due to her hand slipping because of the blood. That's when she said he grabbed her, pulled her down and pointed the gun at her head a second time.
This time, the rifle clip fell out.
Witnesses described a maroon Dodge Ram as a possible suspect vehicle to officers at the scene. When they spotted the truck, officers gave chase.
The chase ended in the 8000 block of Maple Leaf Lane, near Castleton Square Mall and Interstate 69.
According to Bailey, Radford stopped the truck in a grassy area and fled into an apartment. Once inside, police said Radford held a woman at knifepoint. He reportedly refused to drop the knife after repeated commands by officers.
An IMPD officer and an officer from the Lawrence Police Department fired at Radford, who was struck. He died at the scene.
The woman who was being held at knifepoint was checked out at the scene, but was not injured.
An IMPD spokesperson said detectives found a rifle at the initial scene and a knife near Radford at the second scene.
According to court documents, Radford is accused of attacking his wife a little over two weeks ago. In those documents, it claims Radford grabbed Charminca by the neck and threw her to the ground.
Police later charged Radford with domestic battery, battery causing bodily injury and strangulation.
"In short, nonfatal strangulation is the best predictor of future domestic homicides," said Kerry Hyatt Bennett, chief legal counsel for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
After that incident, not only did Radford have a warrant out for his arrest, but he was ordered by the court not to contact Charminca.
"So, my understanding is, they hadn't picked him up on the warrant, but there was a seven-day hold, and the prosecutor asked for a bond deviation because of the history of his domestic violence. So if he was picked up on that warrant before this tragic incident happened, he would have been in jail for the foreseeable future," Bennett said.
When Houle looked into why Radford had a warrant, he found the warrant stems from another domestic-related incident with a different woman from 2019.
In those court documents, it's alleged Radford hit a woman four times with a hammer.
They had only been dating for two weeks.
"I'm not surprised that we see repeat offenders over and over and over again. When the system starts holding them accountable, then they will not be in positions where they can find other people to victimize," Bennett said.
The officers who fired shots at Radford have been placed on administrative leave, per policy, pending internal investigations.
Officers with IMPD, Lawrence Police, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and Indiana State Police were involved in the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact IMPD Det. Sergeant Erika Jones at the homicide office by calling 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.