INDIANAPOLIS -- "I shot someone. I lost it, I just snapped."
IMPD Officer Adrian Aurs, now accused of shooting Sgt. Robert Pearsey, admitted he shot someone during an interview following his capture in Cincinnati, according to probable cause documents released Thursday.
Aurs is accused of shooting at a plain-clothed Pearsey three times, striking him twice, on July 29 at approximately 10:30 p.m. when he discovered Pearsey at his estranged wife's apartment on Valley Brook Way.
Pearsey was responding to a report of domestic violence from earlier in the day. Aurs' two children were also home at the time of the shooting (ages 8 and 2).
According to the probable cause, Aurs burst through the back door of the home unannounced during Pearsey's interview with his estranged wife, pointed a gun directly at Pearsey and fired within six feet while Pearsey was sitting on a couch. Pearsey was struck in the right side and arm. His injuries were not life threatening. One of the children was sleeping in a bedroom on the other side of the couch and in the line of fire, but was not injured.
RELATED | Officer Aurs may have spied on IMPD as they searched for him
Pearsey, a sergeant in IMPD's Special Investigations Unit, said he fired back once, but missed Aurs as he ran out the door. Pearsey said he then backed into the bathroom to get cover and secure the area in front of the bedroom, where Aurs' wife and her children were hiding.
Aurs then fled to Cincinnati, where the vehicle he was traveling in was located by Cincinnati police officers. Adrian initially barricaded himself in the vehicle, but was arrested without incident a short time later.
In an interview with CPD, Adrian made voluntary statements saying "I shot someone," and "I lost it, I just snapped," according to the probable cause. He also said he did not know the person in his wife's apartment was a police officer.
Adrian's wife told officers she had been separated from him for approximately seven months and that she had been living in the apartment on Valley Brook Way alone since then.
Prior to Aurs pulling the trigger, his wife told IMPD he yelled "What are you laughing at with another man in your apartment!?"
READ MORE | Officer Aurs previously hailed as a hero, criminal in the past
After he shot the sergeant, Aurs' wife said he pointed the gun at her and said, "I can't be here anymore, it's too late."
Aurs' wife told IMPD she tried to talk to him as he fled outside, for fear he would kill himself.
She said Aurs has threatened to kill himself previously in front of her and their children.
A witness to the incident also told IMPD that Aurs had a "crazed look on his face" as he pointed a gun at that witness' husband after the shooting outside of the apartment.
The husband told IMPD Aurs then pointed the gun to his own head saying he wanted to kill himself, but that he wanted to see his kids one more time. The witness told police Aurs said "I shot my friend," and then left.
Another witness described Aurs' demeanor as upset, quoting him as saying to his wife, "You haven't been answering your phone, now I'm going to catch a felony."
READ MORE | Officer Aurs pleads guilty to drunk driving charge
Pearsey said before Aurs came into the home and shot him, he took a recorded statement from Aurs' wife about the domestic violence report.
Aurs' wife said earlier in the evening her husband came to the residence asking to see their children. She said she told him not to come into the apartment, and when he did force his way in, she told him to leave several times. He did not comply, and only left after he took her car keys.
After this incident, Aurs contacted IMPD Sgt. Brad Gosnell and stated he was at the apartment to see his children but he was denied and forced entry into the residence.
At the time of the shooting, there was no legal court order or agreement concerning Aurs' child visitation, but Aurs' wife had filed for divorce following an incident that she detailed for IMPD in a second interview after the shooting. She said that on or about Dec. 10, 2015, Aurs shoved her backwards with open hands, causing her to fall on a toy box after she denied him sex. She sustained bruises and pain from the incident. She filed for a restraining order, but later dropped it when Aurs threatened to make claims of abuse also. The couple had been married for nine years.
Aurs was extradited back to Indianapolis and made his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.
