UPDATE (April 6, 2022):
Detectives from the Indiana State Police say that they are continuing to investigate the tragic events that occurred on Monday in New Albany, Indiana.
At this time authorities are releasing the names of two of the individuals.
Indiana State Police released the following:
The suspect, in this case, has been identified as Cherok Ameer Douglass, 37, of New Albany, Indiana. Cherok Douglass is currently charged with one count of Kidnapping, a level 2 Felony, and one count of Robbery, also a Level 2 Felony.
One of the deceased has been identified as Brandee Kay Douglass, 38, the wife of Cherok Douglass.
The name of the second deceased subject will be released pending notification of family.
This investigation is ongoing.
SECOND UPDATE FROM ISP (April 6, 2022):
Detectives with the Indiana State Police in Sellersburg continue to investigate the double-murder, kidnapping and police-involved shooting that occurred on Monday, April 4th in New Albany.
At this time, investigators are releasing the name of the second homicide victim from the double-murder that occurred at Grant Line and Beechwood Avenue.
The victim was Lorin M. Yelle, 43, of Louisville, Kentucky. At this point in the investigation, detectives do not believe there was any connection between Yelle and Cherok or Brandee Douglass. Investigators believe Mr. Yelle was a customer of the gas station where the shootings took place and was shot after exiting the store and walking to his vehicle.
Autopsies in the case are scheduled for Monday, April 11, 2022. This news release will be updated as relevant information becomes available.
ORIGINAL STORY:
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (ADAMS) – Police in southern Indiana are treating a double murder and officer-involved shooting as two different crimes.
It happened in New Albany yesterday morning. Investigators say a suspect shot two people at a gas station, then took a woman as a hostage.
After a while, police say the suspect jumped into his SUV and tried to run some officers down.
That’s when the officers shot and wounded the suspect. He’s being treated in a Louisville hospital. The Indiana State Police are investigating the kidnapping and officer-involved shooting.
New Albany Police are investigating the double murder.
Indiana State Police released the following:
The Indiana State Police (ISP) in Sellersburg is investigating a police-involved shooting after the suspect allegedly murdered two people, led police on a pursuit, and later kidnapped a woman at gunpoint.
Around 10 Monday morning, authorities learned of a double murder at a New Albany gas station located at Beechwood and Grant Line Roads.
Officers with the New Albany Police Department, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, and ISP responded to the scene.
When officers observed the suspect driving a maroon SUV, they pursued the suspect to Charlestown Road just north of I-265. The suspect then stopped his car near a business parking lot, fled on foot, and entered a local restaurant.
Once inside the restaurant, the suspect allegedly took a woman hostage at gunpoint and forced her into a silver SUV in a back parking lot. As officers surrounded the area, the hostage fell from the vehicle, and the suspect then attempted to run over officers. Responding police officers from the New Albany Police Department and the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department then shot the suspect, who was subdued after the SUV crashed into the back of the restaurant.
The suspect and the kidnapping victim were transported to University Hospital in Louisville with non-life-threatening injuries.
ISP detectives and crime scene investigators are investigating the kidnapping and police-involved shooting at the Charlestown Road scene. The double-murder is being investigated by detectives with the New Albany Police Department.
