WESTFIELD, Ind. — A Westfield man was arrested for attempted murder and other preliminary charges after an apparent road rage incident on Monday, the Westfield Police Department said.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, Westfield officers responded to the area of East 196th Street and Grassy Branch Road for a report of a road rage incident.
Two workers with Westfield's Street Department had been working in the area and flagged down an off-duty officer driving a department cruiser.
They told police their supervisor had called them to trim the area around 196th Street and Grassy Branch Road. While working, they said they spotted a truck approaching at high speed. One of the workers put their hand out, gesturing for the driver to slow down.
The workers said the driver did slow down but then shouted for them to get out of the way.
The workers said the man then got out of his truck, yelled some more and then got a gun out of his truck. The man then chased the worker that gestured for him to slow down, and the worker said the man hit him in the head with the gun. When the worker fell to the ground, he said the man again hit him with the gun.
The worker said he was able to grab the man and began wrestling with him. While wrestling, the worker said he saw the magazine and bullet fall from the gun. The worker said the man was able to stand up, pointed the gun at his chest and pulled the trigger. When it didn't go off, the worker claims the man pointed the gun at the worker's head and again pulled the trigger. The worker said the man realized the magazine had fallen out and was trying to reload when the second worker began yelling and the man took off.
The other worker told a very similar story about the incident to police and added the man shouted a racial slur as he left.
The suspect was identified by Westfield police as 38-year-old Austin Weir. Police said when they encountered him outside his home, he was not responding at first to commands, but that he eventually complied and was taken into custody without incident, arrested, and taken to the Hamilton County Jail. He is facing the following charges:
- Attempted murder
- Battery committed with a deadly weapon
- Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury
- Pointing a firearm
Police said while searching Weir, they found a 9mm handgun in his waistband. According to police, Weir told them he was attacked by two people with weed trimmers, and he had to fight them off.