No threat after heavy police presence at Dollar General in Howe

Authorities assure the public that the police presence at the Howe Dollar General should not be a cause for concern. The LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department responded to an incident around 5 p.m. near the Dollar General at 5580 State Road 9.

This response follows online reports of an “active shooter” in the vicinity.

As of now, there are no reported injuries.

At approximately 5:00 on Wednesday afternoon, LaGrange County authorities received an initial report of a drive-by shooting roughly three miles from the Dollar General in Howe. Later, police located the suspect vehicle at the store on State Road 9.

The LaGrange County Sheriff, present on the scene, informed Channel3 NOW that the suspect has been apprehended.

Weapons were discovered inside the vehicle, and fortunately, no injuries were sustained. LaGrange County Sheriff Tracy Harker informed Channel3 NOW that the suspect was in possession of a handgun and what he characterized as a high-powered rifle.

Although multiple rounds were discharged during the initial drive-by incident, there were no reported injuries.

Sheriff Harker attributes the swift arrest in the Dollar General parking lot to the prompt response following the initial call.

Sheriff Harker additionally mentions that the handgun was discovered in the parking lot, and he suspects that a nearby residence may have suffered damage from gunfire. He elaborates, “We also found a firearm on the ground in the parking lot.

Currently, we believe one house to the northwest was affected, but we are uncertain whether the suspect discharged the handgun during the officers’ contact with him or if an incident occurred in the parking lot.

We are actively investigating this aspect as well,” stated LaGrange County Sheriff Tracy Harker.

According to a witness at the scene, I was at work when we saw numerous police officers stopping in front of our store and West Edge, all with long-range rifles, storming into Dollar General. All three shooters (we were told three) were apprehended at Dollar General. Only one person was working there tonight, and we, at the gas station, are good friends/acquaintances with him. Please be praying for everyone involved. We and BP had locked our doors and shut off lights until the third one was apprehended.

This is a developing story that will be updated when more information is available.