Marion police kill robber outside store

MARION, Ind. (WANE) -  A robbery suspect is dead after two Marion police officers shot him. It happened at the Dollar General Store at 1101 S. Baldwin Avenue in Marion at about 9:45 Saturday night. Now detectives from the Indiana State Police Peru Post are handling the investigation of what happened.

Police said around 9:45 p.m. Saturday Robert Lee Thompson, 61, of Marion, entered the Dollar General Store allegedly armed with a sawed-off shotgun. He immediately went to a back office and demanded money from a store employee who was counting the day’s receipts.

Another employee heard what was happening and called 911.

When Marion police arrived, officers set up a perimeter around the store. Four officers went in the front of the store to look for Thompson. When the officers found Thompson, and police said Thompson pointed the shotgun at one of the officers. That officer immediately took cover to avoid being shot, but no shots were fired.

Thompson then ran out the back door, where he was confronted by two Marion police officers. State police detectives said the officers said they repeated commands telling Thompson to drop the shotgun, but he did not. When Thompson allegedly pointed the shotgun at the two officers, they shot Thompson in defense of their lives, a police report said. Thompson was hit several times. The investigation found that the shotgun had fired at least one round.

Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene. No police officers or store employees were hurt. There were two employees in the store at the time of the robbery. They said Thompson damaged the video footage that was taken by security cameras inside the Dollar General Store.

The Marion police officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. This is standard procedure for the Marion Police Department when it involved an on-duty shooting incident.

When State Police detectives finish their investigation, all information will be forwarded to the Grant County Prosecutors Office.