Double shooting suspect who injured toddler also shot himself before capture, police say

The wanted suspect involved in an Indiana shooting that injured two people, including a toddler, has been apprehended by police after shooting himself, officials said. 

Robbie Perez, 35, of Columbus, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s office.

Perez was wanted in connection to a shooting that happened late Thursday night in Hope, Indiana. 

Deputies from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and police officers with the Hope Police Department responded to a shooting call at a residence at 11:25 p.m. Thursday night. There, they found an injured 36-year-old male and a toddler boy with gunshot wounds. An earlier police statement said the boy was two, but he is in fact 3-years-old. 

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Sheriff Chris Lane identified Perez as a suspect. The sheriff said Friday morning that Perez was on the run and considered armed and dangerous. 

At around 10:49 a.m. Friday, the silver Chevrolet HHR allegedly being driven by Perez was spotted heading westbound on East King Street near the intersection with Interstate 65 in Johnson County, Lane said in a statement.

Officers with the Franklin Police Department were able to locate the vehicle and attempted to stop it. Police knew the vehicle type and license plate number and saw it driving in the downtown area, Franklin Police Captain Scott Carter said, according to the Daily Journal. 

Franklin officers followed the suspect until enough police vehicles had gathered to assist with performing a traffic stop, Carter said. 

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When police attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle did not stop and officers pursued in slow-speed chase between 40 and 50 mph as the suspect traveled north. Law enforcement used stop sticks to end the chase just north of the intersection of Hurricane Road and Earlywood Drive/East County Road 300 North, the Daily Journal reported. 

Perez was then taken into custody. The suspect appeared to have shot himself at some point, police said. 

“Robbie Perez was found to be suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of the pursuit. He was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for evaluation/treatment,” Lane said. 

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Crime scene techs discovered a firearm inside the vehicle. 

Preliminary investigation suggested the shooting stemmed from a family dispute. Further investigation has revealed the shooting incident culminated from what the sheriff described as a “long term feud” between alleged shooter Robbie Perez and his brother, George Perez, Jr., the 36-year-old victim. 

George Perez has since been released from the hospital, according to police. 

The 3-year-old victim, George’s son, remains in the hospital in critical condition, the sheriff said.