Teen left juvenile detention center, carjacked vehicle

WHITLEY COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - Police in Whitley County have preliminarily charged a teenager in connection with an attempted carjacking that resulted in the driver being shot.

Police said Dakota Kimbler, 17, was classified as a runaway from Pierceton Woods Academy on Saturday.

Pierceton Woods is a juvenile detention facility for boys in Pierceton.

According to police, Kimbler hid in the victim's backseat Sunday morning while he was working third shift at Paragon Medical overnight.

The victim told police that he was driving home from work around 7:15 a.m., when he realized there was someone in his backseat. Police said the driver attempted to wrestle the gun away from Kimbler when he was shot in the chest. The victim was still able to get the gun and hold Kimbler at gunpoint until police arrived.

Pierceton Woods Academy is the division of the Lifeline Youth and Family Services in Fort Wayne.

Mark Terrell, CEO of Lifeline Youth and Family Services, released the following statement to NewsChannel 15 Monday night:

"We are shocked and disappointed by the incident that occurred Sunday morning, and we’re cooperating fully with authorities who are investigating the situation.

Because the person involved is a juvenile, we are prohibited by law from commenting on the situation.

However, I can tell you that nothing like this has happened in Lifeline’s 44-year history. Lifeline is committed to providing a structured, healing environment for troubled youth, and we will certainly review all our current policies and procedures for ways we can improve them.

Our prayers go out to the individual who was injured."

Indiana law states that a 17-year-old charged with attempted murder will be tried under adult court jurisdiction.