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Suspect Shoots At Fort Wayne Officer

Last updated on Monday, May 20, 2013

(FORT WAYNE) - A Fort Wayne Police Department officer was shot at while responding to a domestic dispute Friday evening on Harrison Street.

WANE TV reports that an officer was responding to the 3100 block of Harrison Street, when he saw a man that matched the description of the suspect involved in the domestic dispute.

The officer stopped to talk to the man, who apparently was wearing the same clothing as the suspect was described to be wearing, in the 2800 block of Harrison Street around 9:39 Friday night.

The officer asked the man, who was later identified as Daniel Spells, 33, for his identification. Spells gave the officer his ID but then pulled a handgun from his waistband and began shooting at the officer.

The officer said he could tell from Spells' body language that he could be armed. He was actually holding Spells' arm when Spells began to shoot at him.

The officer was able to restrain him and take him to the ground, but Spells continued to shoot. The officer finally disarmed Spells and arrested him just as other FWPD officers arrived at the scene.

The officer was not hit by any bullets; however, a car that had been driving on Harrison Street was hit. There were no injuries reported.

The officer did suffer a cut to his hand from the struggle. It's unclear if the officer involved in the incident has returned to work.

Spells was not the suspect in the domestic dispute the officer was originally called out to.

When asked if Spells may be involved in the recent violence in Fort Wayne, police say nothing from this investigation indicates Spells has anything to do with the city's shootings.

Spells was first taken to the FWPD Detective Bureau to be interviewed and then was taken to St. Joe Hospital. Police say if Spells had any injuries, he would have gone straight to hospital first.

Spells is facing the following charges:
* Murder
* Criminal recklessness
* Possession of handgun without a license
* Resisting law enforcement

According to police, under Indiana law, a defendant can be charged with murder even if the person who was shot at was not actually hit. However, officers say that the charge could be changed by the prosecutor to attempted murder.

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