Cops Kill Man Who Abducted Child

Police officers shot and killed a man on Thursday as he tried to flee with his 2-year-old daughter, a day after an Amber Alert had been issued for the girl, authorities said.

The girl was unharmed and was reunited with her mother a short time later.

Officers found Thomas J. Evans, 45, at a restaurant just north of Seymour after a 911 caller reported that he was there, state police Sgt. Dave Bursten said. Evans drove away from the restaurant with his daughter in the car, but pursuing officers were quickly able to box him in with their squad cars.

Officers opened fire on Evans after they saw he had a gun.

"Mr. Evans had every opportunity to end this peacefully, but that's not the choice he made," Bursten said.

The girl, Andrea Jordan Evans, was taken from the car and held by police officers until her mother arrived at the scene, within miles of their southern Indiana home.

"I asked her (Andrea) if she was OK and she said, 'No,' but she appeared to be OK," city police Cpl. Ernie Davidson said. "There were no visible injuries."

Investigators found a loaded and cocked handgun in Evans' car, Seymour Police Chief Craig Hayes said.

The abduction was reported by the girl's mother, Brenda Evans, who said her husband left her tied up in the house Wednesday, CBS News affiliate WLKY reports. Officers found her bound with ropes at her wrists and ankles. She told officers her husband had bound and beaten her over previous days in an ongoing dispute, Hayes said.

Three officers — two from the Seymour city police and one state trooper — were involved in the shooting, Bursten. No officers were injured in the confrontation.

"I'm comfortable with what my officers did," Hayes said.

Cody Evans, an adult son of Thomas Evans, said he did not think the shooting was necessary as he believed his father was protecting Andrea from his stepmother and that he would not have hurt the child.

"They put her in more danger than he ever thought of," Cody Evans said.

The shooting happened about 5:45 p.m. along Indiana 11 near the city about midway between Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky.

The alert said Thomas Evans had a loaded gun and a knife and had threatened to kill the child. An arrest warrant was issued for him on a felony charge of criminal confinement against his wife.

An employee at the restaurant, who declined to give his name, said Evans pulled a small black car into the Rockford Place drive-in, where several of Evans' relatives worked.

After placing an order, police officers surrounded the car and ordered Evans to get out. Evans then drove through the parking lot before leaving the property, the restaurant worker said.

The witness said his wife waited on Evans and that the girl was in car's front seat and appeared fine. He said he heard about eight shots fired soon after Evans drove away from the restaurant.

Police said Evans tried to paint his tan 1991 Toyota Corolla black since leaving with his daughter.

Cathy Klaes was driving to her Seymour home when she saw officers chasing Evans' car.

"He was driving like wild," she said. "There were tons of shots and it was very scary."