Indiana police shoot, kill armed man after shoplifting

SEYMOUR, Ind. (AP) - Two southern Indiana police officers fatally shot an armed man after he fled from them as they investigated a reported shoplifting, state police said Monday.

Two Seymour police officers who were called Sunday night to a Wal-Mart store to investigate a theft from the store spotted a man matching the shoplifting suspect's description and who allegedly had stolen merchandise, police said.

The suspect fled from officers, crossed a street and then entered a ditch in front of a fast-food restaurant along U.S. 50 while armed with a handgun, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, a spokesman for Indiana State Police, which is investigating the shooting.

Wheeles said the two Seymour police officers fired their weapons, striking the man, who was pronounced dead at a Seymour hospital. Additional details of the shooting in the city about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of Indianapolis were not immediately released.

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday on the man, who investigators are working to identify, Wheeles said.

After state police at the agency's Versailles post complete their investigation of the shooting, he said that case will be presented to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office for review.