Indiana suspect captured after hourslong search in city sewers: Hatchet throwing

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9/24/2022

Indiana suspect captured after hourslong search in city sewers. An Indiana man sought on suspicion of throwing a hatchet at people in a park was found Tuesday after an hourslong search through Bloomington’s storm sewer system — where investigators recovered a hand scythe, a machete and rifle cartridges.

Eli Swartzentruber, described as a 37-year-old transient, was taken into custody Tuesday evening after he fled from officers to the depths of the underground system, Bloomington police said in a news release.

Groups of officers descended upon the city’s streets, flash bang grenades were deployed, special cameras were used to search the sewers, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for parts of Indiana University Bloomington.

Police first posted on social media that they were searching for a barricaded man in the sewer system at around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

It wasn’t until six hours later that police announced that the man had been safely removed from the storm drain — after he was apprehended by a canine officer — and in custody, at around 5:30 p.m.

Hatchet thrown at people; escape into sewers

On their way to the park, officers got a report that the man had gone to a vehicle in a nearby Kroger parking lot, retrieved a hatchet and walked back to the same people in the park and thrown the hatchet at them, police said.

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