Police Find Large Weapons Cache In Neighborhood

LAWRENCE, Ind. -- Officers who were called to a northeastern Marion County home on a welfare check late Thursday night found one of the largest weapons caches at a home they have ever seen.

---

Images: Police Seize Huge Cache Of Guns, Ammunition From Home

---

Police went to the home in the 7000 block of Lantern Road just before 10 p.m. after the daughter of a 60-year-old man found a suicide note and empty gun holster at the home.

When they arrived, officers found military ordnance in the home and asked investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to do a complete search.

In the search, officers found more than a 100 guns, including a 20 mm Russian anti-tank rifle capable of piercing through most armor, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Investigators also found mortars, mortar shells, nearly 80 pounds of black powder, smoke grenades, a Thompson submachine gun, assorted rifles and shotguns, along with about 50,000 rounds of ammunition.

"It was just kind of really frightening for these officers when they responded to this last night, that this guy could have been at the door and tried a suicide-by-cop situation and obviously was armed well enough to do some damage," said Indianapolis police Major David Allender.

The man was found at about 3 a.m. sitting in a truck in a church parking lot and was detained.

Police said all of the firearms and ammunition in the home posed a serious threat to the neighborhood.

"The neighbors, I can imagine, will be very happy that we're getting this out of the neighborhood because all that ammo and the power that's unsafe," said Officer Chris Wuensch. "I've not seen anything like that, except in the movies."

The weapons were seized based on a law legislators passed in the wake of the shooting death of Indianapolis police Officer Jake Laird in 2004. The law allows police to seize weapons until an owner can prove mental fitness to have them.

"Anything could have went wrong. I mean, he was upset with whatever was going on in his life so we needed, for safe keeping, to take these into custody," said Officer Andre Bell.

Neighbors told Rinehart that they knew the man had weapons but they had no idea about the extent of his stash.

ATF plans to inventory and, possibly, destroy all of the items.