Man Arrested In Officer Stabbing

COLUMBUS, Ind. -- A man accused of stabbing a Columbus police officer was taken into custody Tuesday evening after a three-hour manhunt.

The officer had responded to an argument in the 700 block of Hutchins Avenue near downtown Columbus just after 4:30 p.m., police said.

Investigators said that one of the men involved in the argument -- Carl J. Drucker II, 38 -- pulled a knife, prompting police to open fire. Drucker then stabbed officer Mark Hutchinson, police said.

Hutchinson, a five-year member of the force, was airlifted to Columbus Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

Drucker was apprehended just before 7 p.m. after officers fired tear gas into the home. He was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

"It was unclear initially if the suspect had fled the residence or was still inside," said Columbus police Lt. Joe Richardson. "We had received calls from neighbors who thought maybe somebody was in their shed. We'd also received reports (he was) underneath a bridge that's here close, as well as an abandoned building."

Jeff Sanford, who works near the home where the argument happened, said it got his attention.

"I heard it was over property, people renting something," he said.