1/24/24 UPDATE: Christian Myers was sentenced 3 years with 1 year suspended after pleading guilty to two remaining charges of criminal recklessness and misdemeanor of unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer. This will be served consecutively from Myers’s original sentencing of 4 years in December.
12/27 UPDATE: Christian Myers was sentenced to four years in prison followed by 545 days in Marion County Community Corrections.
11/29 UPDATE: After a jury trial that began Monday, a jury ruled on the seven charges that Christian Myers faced:
- Not guilty to one count of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony
- Guilty on one count of criminal recklessness, a Level 5 felony
- Guilty on one count of possession of a machine gun, a Level 5 felony
- Guilty on two counts of resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony
- Not guilty to two counts of attempted murder, attempted intentional killing of another.
According to court documents, the sentencing hearing for Myers is scheduled for Dec. 19.
2/7 UPDATE: Charges have been filed for Christian Myers, which include:
- Attempt to commit battery with a deadly weapon (2 charges)
- Criminal recklessness by shooting a firearm into a building (2)
- Unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer
- Battery resulting in bodily injury
- Attempted murder
- Possession of a machine gun
- Resisting law enforcement by using a vehicle
- Resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury
2/3 UPDATE: The officers were identified as Zachary Boston, Andrew Girt and Jacob Liebhauser.
Original story below:
INDIANAPOLIS — Christian Djon Myers, 22, remains in critical condition with wounds he suffered after a Sunday afternoon gunfight with IMPD officers on the city’s northside.
Investigators said Myers fled from officers who attempted to arrest him for allegedly shooting at the car of his child’s mother around 3 a.m. Sunday in Broad Ripple Village.
”We knew who that subject was,” IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said. “There was communication back and forth between the victim and the suspect who had a child in common. That allowed us to track that situation and ultimately come across him and try to get him under wraps before he led us on a little bit of a pursuit and then, of course, the incident with the shots fired at officers.”
IMPD patrol officers and detectives from the Violent Crime Unit spotted Myers’ car around 4 p.m. at a convenience store/gas station at East 38th Street and Fall Creek Parkway.
Before they could apprehend him, Myers drove off and led officers on a short chase that ended with a collision with another vehicle at Kessler Avenue and Binford Boulevard.
As the passenger in Myers’ car surrendered and a handgun with an extended magazine tumbled to the pavement, the wanted man ran off northbound on Binford, jumping a ditch and a slight fence on the west side of the boulevard before crashing through trees and brush into the 5800 block of Winding Way Lane where a witness said that she saw the gunman take cover behind a large electrical box along the street.
That’s when the witness and police agree Myers opened fire first at three officers who shot back and wounded him twice before he dropped his handgun which was also fitted with an extended magazine and a Glock switch that would permit it to be fired in auto mode. That gun, recovered by IMPD, is shown below.
Dents from police bullets riddled the metal box while on Monday Myers’ blood still stains the ground where he hid and shot it out with officers.
”Our specialty units are usually assigned a target,” said Taylor. “They’re not out just looking in general, making traffic stops and those kind of things. They have someone they’re looking at who has done some pretty bad things that they’re on those groups’ lists.”
IMPD’s VCU is assigned to track down those specific armed suspects of violent crimes.
Myers faces charges from the early Sunday morning incident including intimidation, criminal recklessness, battery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer.
That last charge stems from Myers’ 2020 arrest in Fishers for pulling a gun on the same woman, who was pregnant at the time, and his later guilty plea to a count of domestic battery.
The Marion County Prosecutor will determine if Myers will face charges for his role in the shootout with police and whether the officers acted within the law while returning fire.
”It’s a dangerous job and our officers know that and, unfortunately, these things happen,” said Taylor. “There’s no rhyme or reason to it often but we’re dealing with some people who are willing to do some bad things and we have to be prepared to deal with them.”
Sunday’s non-fatal Officer Involved Shooting marked the second such incident in the past thirty days involving IMPD officers.
Earlier this month Lawrence Police fatally wounded a man who had shot one of their officers during an arrest for failure to appear in court on a gun charge.
Authorities have not yet released Body Worn Camera video from either incident.