EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
After a police standoff on Sweetser, authorities are once again on the hunt for the man who fired a shot outside an apartment complex.
Earlier, police thought they had their suspect, but now say the man inside the apartment complex on the 600 block of Sweetser is a victim.
So right now, officers are once again looking for the man who fired a shot this afternoon at the apartment complex.
Police say a group of men jumped a man outside the apartment building and one of the men in that group fired a shot. Police say the group of men, including the shooter, took off.
The victim went inside one of the apartments at the complex. Police were able to talk all eight people inside that apartment into coming out. That's when officers say the suspect told the victim not to call police.
"They were specifically told not to cooperate with us. There is a culture of fear here, sometimes in this area, so we understand that and it's a believable story. At this time, we're still going to search the apartment just to try to verify their story. They're claiming they never had a weapon. They went inside the apartment to seek safety," said EPD's Jason Cullum.
Police are hoping the victim cooperates and gives them information about the shooter. Otherwise, this might not be an easy case to solve.
Officers say that residents are allowed back inside the apartment complex. Police say they thoroughly searched the apartment complex before letting residents back in and deemed it safe. Some officers are staying on scene until they receive a search warrant to look for evidence inside the apartment.
Because of the proximity of the incident, Glenwood Middle School kept students who live along Sweetser Avenue at the school. All others were allowed to leave.
The EVSC released this statement about the incident:
"Students at Glenwood Leadership Academy living in the Sweetser Avenue area were held after school for a brief time today due to a police incident in that area. Students remained at school, unless being picked up by parents, until local law enforcement notified the school they could go home, about 3:05 p.m. A message was sent to families through the EVSC's family notification system at that time to let them know their children were leaving to come home."
We'll have more as it comes available.
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Police try to get into apartment during standoff.
Police on scene of the standoff on Sweetser Avenue.
