Lawrence PD: Man sleeping in van wakes up during break-in, shoots suspect

LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — An 18-year-old woman was taken to the hospital Friday morning after being shot while trying to break into a van in Lawrence, police said.

At around 4 a.m., Lawrence Police Department officers responded to a shooting at a home in the 4800 block of Kenyon Drive near 46th Street and Shadeland Avenue.

A man at the residence told police he was sleeping in his van in the driveway after an argument and woke up to someone trying to get into the vehicle, according to Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff.

“The resident shot the person twice. The person shot fled the scene on foot and was located at their nearby residence with two gunshot wounds,” Woodruff said in an email to News 8.

Police say the woman was unarmed.

The woman’s injuries were not expected to be life-threatening. She was taken to Riley Hospital for Children and was reported to be in stable condition, officers at the scene tell News 8.

Police did not share the suspect’s name but tell News 8 that she did not know the man inside the van.

No other information was immediately available.

Laurie Props lives close to where the shooting happened.

She says she woke up to the sound of gunfire.

“Nobody wants to hear anybody get shot or get hurt or die, and of course when I drove around the corner I was like, oh my God, maybe this is where it actually happened,” Props said.

She says it is concerning to see this kind of crime in her neighborhood.

“He was probably just trying to protect himself you know, but maybe she was homeless and was going to try to crawl in and sleep. We don’t know,” Props said.

Police as of Friday afternoon had not yet completed their investigation.