INDIANAPOLIS — A veteran Indianapolis police officer died after he and another patrolman exchanged gunfire with a suspect in an alley Saturday night.
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| Perry Renn |
Officer Perry Renn, 51, was pronounced dead at a hospital at 9:58 p.m. Saturday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement early Sunday morning. Renn had been with the IMPD for nearly 22 years.
According to police, Renn and another officer responded to a call about shots being fired, went to the alley and approached a group of unidentified subjects. As officers approached, 25-year-old Major Davis Jr. of Indianapolis began shooting, prompting officers to return fire, police said.
Davis also was struck and remains in critical condition following surgery. Police said he is preliminarily charged with murder.
“This is a sad day for the IMPD family and the community as a whole,” IMPD Chief Rick Hite said. “Please keep Officer Renn’s family in your prayers. We will remain vigilant as we continue to take care of one another and the city in the days and weeks to come.”
Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said Renn was the eighth police officer shot during the last 18 months.
“Our officers, less than 24 hours ago, were attending to the wounded citizens of this city,” Hite said, while standing alongside Riggs and Mayor Greg Ballard outside the hospital Saturday night. “What are we going to do about people in the community who welcome us with assault weapons when we are sending out officers who are trying to protect them?”
Ballard said it was “a time to grieve and we want to send our hearts out for the family of Officer Renn.”
The shooting was the latest in a violent year for Indianapolis, where 72 homicides have happened in just over six months — a pace that could have 2014 rivaling 1998, when the city had its worst year on record with a total of 162 killings.
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