HollyMatkinEvansville, IN – A convicted sex offender who brutally raped a woman was shot by police on Wednesday, after he returned to the woman’s apartment complex and pointed a weapon at officers.
The female victim reported the attack at approximately 6:40 p.m. on April 18, according to the Courier & Press.
She said that an acquaintance named “Michael” had threatened her with a gun, raped her, and told her he would return to hurt her again, Evansville Police Department (EPD) Sergeant Jason Cullum said.
The woman was able to provide a detailed description of her attacker, who was later identified as 48-year-old Michael Foster.
Police remained at the scene while the woman was transported to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Just before 7:30 p.m., Foster returned to the apartment complex and was intercepted by officers.
They ordered him to show his hands, but Foster attempted to flee, and ran around the corner of a building.
As one of the pursuing officers rounded the corner of the building, he again commanded that the suspect show his hands.
“Hands! Show your hands! Drop it!” the officer ordered, according to Sgt. Cullum.
Foster turned and pointed a handgun at the officer, who opened fire.
The suspect ultimately dropped the weapon, and fell to the ground. The handgun was later determined to be a replica.
Although the weapon wasn’t real, police noted that it had no markings to help differentiate it from an actual firearm.
“They are designed to elicit fear, to intimidate people,” Sgt. Cullum said. “If you are using those firearms, replica firearms, to intimidate people … [if] you know the police are coming toward you and you put it in your hand, you’ve made a decision to put yourself in a deadly force encounter.”
Foster was transported to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, and his condition was unknown as of Thursday afternoon.
The three officers at the scene at the time of the officer-involved shooting were not injured, WFIE reported.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.
Foster, a registered sex offender, was convicted of child molestation in 1997.
According to the Courier & Press, he had also been found in possession of a replica weapon in July of 2014 while impersonating a police officer.
On that occasion, Foster wore a hat and t-shirt emblazoned with the word “police,” and told visitors at Angel Mounds State Historical Site that they needed to leave the area, because he was preparing to conduct a raid.
He was carrying what appeared to be a firearm in his pocket when he was confronted by a Vanderburgh County sheriff’s deputy, and momentarily placed his hand on the weapon’s grip.
He did not unholster the weapon, but continued to walk towards the deputy, despite being told to stop. The deputy subsequently took Foster to the ground, where he was subdued.
Investigators later learned that he was carrying a BB gun.
Foster also has also been charged with multiple counts of failing to register as a sex offender since his child molestation conviction.
Bodycam footage of the officer-involved shooting will be released after the officer’s formal statement to investigators has been gathered, Sgt. Cullum said.