IMPD investigating if two men arrested after pursuit have links to officer shooting

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis police arrested two men on Saturday who might have connections to a shots fired incident that left a police officer shot on Friday.

The officer shot during Friday’s incident was in “good spirits” and “on the road to recovery,” the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in an update Monday. Police say the officer was expected to stay in the hospital for “several more days.”

The two men, identified as Jeffrey Bowling, 21, and Antione Jones, 20, were arrested for unrelated charges shortly after midnight Saturday. Police said they were trying to determine if the two were linked to the shooting.

Arrest documents shared with News 8 say IMPD detectives investigating the officer-shot incident were near the 3400 block of North Mitthoefer Road around 12:30 a.m. on Indianapolis’ east side when they saw a silver Kia sedan driving south on Mitthoefer.

The Kia was “possibly the vehicle used by the suspects in the incident,” police say. After following the Kia for a short period, officers turned on their emergency lights and tried to pull the Kia over. The Kia didn’t stop and sped off at a high rate of speed.

The chase through multiple east side streets, reaching over 110 mph in a 45 mph zone on East 38th Street. Eventually, the Kia turned on Mitthoefer Road and sped into the Amberwoods Apartments in the 10200 block of John Jay Marshall Drive, just south of East 38th Street.

Police saw a man, identified as Bowling, open the back passenger door and try to jump out of the car, but quickly closed it again. The Kia left the apartment complex parking lot, drove back onto Mitthoefer Road, and then drove into a ditch full of water.

Bowling jumped out of the vehicle and ran through the ditch while the car continued through the ditch and into a grassy area in the center of the complex.

One of the detectives raced after Bowling on foot, following him to a line of townhomes along Mitthoefer Road. Bowling ran through the backdoor of a home at the end of the row. The officer ran around the side of the home, and when he turned the corner, found Bowling running out the front door directly toward him.

The officer told Bowling to get on the ground, but Bowling kept running toward the detective. The officer then knocked Bowling to the ground and took him into custody without incident.

Police later found a black Glock handgun with an extended magazine in the flower bed of the townhome Bowling ran through. They also found a loading AK47 magazine in a backpack Bowling was wearing.

The renter spoke with IMPD and said they didn’t know Bowling and didn’t allow him in the apartment.

Around 1:15 a.m., another group of IMPD investigators found Jones in the backyard of a home on Ridgefield Drive, just one street south of the Amberwoods Apartments.

When police approached Jones, he promptly told officers “I give up” and was taken into custody.

IMPD didn’t say where the silver Kia was located.

Bowling faces charges of residential entry, or breaking and entering, and Jones faces charges of reckless driving. Both men were preliminarily charged with resisting law enforcement.

Investigators say they are still working to learn if the two men and the vehicle are connected to Friday’s shooting.