Patrolman Willard VanHorn was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a suspect who had robbed a service station and abducted the attendant in Muncie earlier in the day.

   A detective from the Muncie Police Department went to Elwood after learning one of the suspects may have gone there. The detective accompanied Patrolman VanHorn and another Elwood patrolman to a home where they believed the 23-year-old suspect was hiding. The detective went to the front door and the two patrolmen went to the back door.

   As the patrolmen entered the house the suspect immediately opened fire on them, striking Patrolman VanHorn. The Muncie detective returned fire and struck the suspect who died of his wounds the following day. The 17-year-old second suspect was arrested in Summitville and later sentenced to 25 years in prison for his part in the original robbery.

   Patrolman VanHorn was survived by his wife and three children.