June 18, 2002
Two Indianapolis Colts gave chase -- and were fired on -- after a sport utility vehicle belonging to one of the football players was stolen at gunpoint Monday night.
The stolen vehicle eventually wrecked, and the accused robber was taken into custody.
It started in the Lafayette Square Mall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Defensive backs Nicholas Harper and Idrees Bashir were approached by a man carrying what police and the players described as an AK-47 rifle.
The man demanded Bashir's GMC Yukon Denali sport utility vehicle.
"An AK-47, it speaks for itself. You had to give it up," Harper said of Bashir surrendering his vehicle. "He pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed."
The two players jumped in Harper's car and followed the stolen truck, using the OnStar phone link in that car to call for help.
The armed man drove north on I-65 to I-465, then onto 71st Street.
The players broke off their pursuit when the armed man started firing the rifle at them, but Indianapolis police, alerted by Harper's call, had found the stolen GMC and picked up the chase.
The GMC drove east on 71st to Dobson Street, where it hit the rear of a Mercury Mystique and flipped, smashing the truck's roof. It briefly caught on fire, but Pike Township firefighters put out the flames and pulled the driver out. No serious injuries were reported in the incident.
The alleged robber was not immediately identified. Police said they recovered the rifle used in the robbery from the GMC.
Two Indianapolis Colts gave chase -- and were fired on -- after a sport utility vehicle belonging to one of the football players was stolen at gunpoint Monday night.
The stolen vehicle eventually wrecked, and the accused robber was taken into custody.
It started in the Lafayette Square Mall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Defensive backs Nicholas Harper and Idrees Bashir were approached by a man carrying what police and the players described as an AK-47 rifle.
The man demanded Bashir's GMC Yukon Denali sport utility vehicle.
"An AK-47, it speaks for itself. You had to give it up," Harper said of Bashir surrendering his vehicle. "He pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed."
The two players jumped in Harper's car and followed the stolen truck, using the OnStar phone link in that car to call for help.
The armed man drove north on I-65 to I-465, then onto 71st Street.
The players broke off their pursuit when the armed man started firing the rifle at them, but Indianapolis police, alerted by Harper's call, had found the stolen GMC and picked up the chase.
The GMC drove east on 71st to Dobson Street, where it hit the rear of a Mercury Mystique and flipped, smashing the truck's roof. It briefly caught on fire, but Pike Township firefighters put out the flames and pulled the driver out. No serious injuries were reported in the incident.
The alleged robber was not immediately identified. Police said they recovered the rifle used in the robbery from the GMC.