Gary police fatally shoots man who tried to hit an undercover officer in the head with a machete
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0:00 - Edited bodycam
0:36 - Edited drone
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Law enforcement in Gary, Indiana, released videos on Friday showing the deadly encounter involving a man who attacked officers with a machete during an undercover investigation.
According to police, officers were conducting an undercover investigation at approximately 12:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 3400 block of Maryland Avenue, in response to a recent spree of robberies connected to buy-and-sell exchanges set up on social media.
Officers said a suspect in the incidents had been narrowed down, leading them to set up an undercover operation under the guise of purchasing an item listed for sale online.
The Gary Police Department shared video captured by the undercover officer's body camera and drone footage showing the encounter from overhead.
In the body camera video, the officer is heard asking the suspect if he has a PlayStation console, which the two had agreed to exchange. The officer steps out of the street and into a yard to check if all the equipment is inside the bag when the man suddenly attacks him with a machete.
Drone footage shows the suspect pull out the machete and take a swing at the undercover officer, as the officer runs away, with the suspect chasing him. Another officer, armed with a gun, appears in the camera's view and rushes over to help.
The suspect, a 21-year-old man, was shot by police and then taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said. His identity remains unknown.
The officer who was attacked, a 32-year-old man, was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.