By Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
Prosecutors charged a Greenwood man after he fired a gun multiple times at a house where children were present and attempted to disarm a police officer.
Nathan H. Shaffer, 33, is charged with two counts of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, pointing a firearm at another person and attempting to disarm a police officer, all felonies. He is also charged with pointing a firearm at a person while the weapon was unloaded and domestic battery, both misdemeanors. If convicted, he faces up to 15½ years in prison.
Greenwood police responded early Monday to a house in the 900 block of Bentgrass Drive after a man — later determined to be Shaffer — called 911 to report that shots were fired. A dispatcher told police Shaffer seemed “off,” and he reported two gunshots before the call disconnected, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Johnson County Circuit Court.
Dispatchers told Greenwood police an on-duty Beech Grove police officer was in the house’s garage with an armed suicidal man. The Beech Grove officer told dispatchers he had Shaffer at gunpoint and needed assistance.
A victim told Greenwood police she had an argument with Shaffer the day before, but the argument had no resolution. Shaffer, who had been drinking alcohol, went on a walk about 11 p.m. the night before. When he returned, he paced between the upstairs and the garage, according to court documents.
When Shaffer came downstairs the last time, he was carrying a gun. He made suicidal threats and would pull the slide of the gun back, chamber a round and unload it multiple times, the victim told police.
Shaffer then fired the gun into the floor of the living room, below where two children were sleeping. He unloaded the gun, set it down and walked away. The victim grabbed the gun and its magazine and tried to hide it away. The victim was unable to hide the gun before Shaffer returned. He slapped her in the face and neck multiple times, and took both the gun and her phone, court documents show.
He also grabbed a revolver from the top of the refrigerator. He continued to load and unload the guns and make suicidal threats. He pointed the revolver at himself and the victim, then fired into the ground again, placed the gun on top of the refrigerator and went to garage, the victim told police.
She went outside and met the Beech Grove police officer, court documents show.
The Beech Grove officer told Greenwood police he received an odd call from the victim, and asked his boss if he could go the Greenwood residence. When the officer arrived, he went around the house and asked the victim to come to his patrol car, according to court documents.
The Beech Grove officer immediately contacted Indianapolis dispatchers and asked them to contact Greenwood police. The officer also activated his body camera, court documents show.
While speaking with the victim, the garage door opened. The officer told the victim to wait by the car as he went to the garage. The officer entered the garage with his gun drawn and found Shaffer unarmed. He began talking with Shaffer, who grabbed and loaded an empty magazine into a handgun that was on the hood of a car in the garage. Shaffer pointed the empty gun at the officer and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not go off. The officer pointed his weapon at Shaffer and took cover. The officer could hear Shaffer manipulating his weapon, and moved to another location for cover, where he could hear what sounded like bullets being loaded into a magazine, according to court documents.
When Greenwood police arrived, they joined the Beech Grove officer with guns drawn and attempted to negotiate with Shaffer, asking him to put his gun down. Shaffer fired the gun into the area where officers were standing. Police ran for cover as other officers arrived at the scene, court documents show.
During the chaos, Shaffer ran back inside the house, and police reported there were two small children inside the house. Less than a minute later, Shaffer walked out the front door of the house unarmed with his hands up, and was taken into custody, according to court documents.
Officers entered the house to check on the children and to see if anyone was injured. Both children were found unharmed and given to relatives at the scene. Officers later found a handgun along the driveway that was loaded with one round in the chamber, court documents show.
While he was being taken into custody, Shaffer attempted to grab an officer’s weapon, but he was unsuccessful, police said.
During the investigation, police searched the residence and found two weapons, in addition to the one found outside. Police also found bullet holes in the carpet, and collected shell casings from inside the house and garage, according to court documents.
Police seized all of the weapons and ammo inside the house due to the nature of the incident, court documents show.
Shaffer was taken to the Johnson County jail where he is held on $51,100 bond. An initial hearing has not been set.
