Courthouse security ratchets up; FBI joins manhunt after judge shot at Lafayette home
Details about Sunday shooting, any suspects remain scant at end of Day 2 of manhunt. Judge Steve Meyer faces more surgery Tuesday. Sheriff: Courthouse security will be heavier ‘for foreseeable future'
Thanks to Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
COURTHOUSE SECURITY RATCHETS UP; FBI JOINS MANHUNT AFTER JUDGE SHOT AT LAFAYETTE HOME
Security will be beefed up at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in downtown Lafayette when it opens Tuesday after the three-day weekend, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation joins local and state police in the search for a suspect who shot Judge Steve Meyer and his wife, Kim, at that Lafayette home Sunday.
As of Monday night, Lafayette police had not reported an arrest or more information a suspect in the shooting by someone who reportedly shot the Meyers through their front door in the middle of the afternoon.
According to family friends, Steve Meyer, who has been Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 judge for the past 12 years, was awake and alert Monday in an Indianapolis hospital, facing another surgery Tuesday for wounds to his left arm, including to deal with particles that remained in his arm from a doorway the suspect shot through.
Family friends reported that Kim Meyer had been released from a Lafayette hospital Sunday after being treated for wounds to her hip.
On Monday, Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith said he was working with local judges to have additional security at the county courthouse when courts are in session Tuesday morning.
“We will have extra people there until, basically, the foreseeable future,” Goldsmith said. “And we’re doing extra patrol throughout the county as needed.”
Here’s where things stood, as of Monday night.
The shooting and the investigation
Lafayette police say they responded at 2:17 p.m. Sunday to a report of a shot fired in the 1700 block of Mill Pond Lane. Police have released little information about the circumstances of the shooting, beyond saying they found shell casings at the Meyers’ front door. Initial descriptions relayed to the first officers mentioned someone in a disguise who knocked on the door, telling them that he’d found their dog.
Lafayette Police Chief Scott Galloway said Monday morning that he wasn’t taking questions about the case and that LPD’s updates, for now, would be in the press releases.
The most recent of those releases, out around 12:30 p.m. Monday, said that the FBI was part of the investigation with LPD and other local and state agencies.
“I want to ensure the community that every available resource is being used to apprehend the individual(s) responsible for this senseless unacceptable act of violence,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said in a release from the Lafayette Police Department. “I have tremendous confidence in the Lafayette Police Department and I want to thank all of the local, state and federal agencies who are assisting in this investigation.”
In an LPD release Monday, Kim Meyer offered this statement: “I have great confidence in the Lafayette Police Department’s investigation and want to thank all the agencies involved for their work. We are also incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the community; everyone has been so kind and compassionate. We would also like to thank the medical personnel who provided care and assistance to us following the incident.”
Judges across the state told to ‘be vigilant’
Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Sean Persin said Monday that the local courts had been in touch with the Indiana Supreme Court about covering hearings in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2.
Superior Court 2 handles major criminal cases, including murders and level 1 through 5 felonies. The court also hears cases in dissolution of marriage and family law matters, as well as assorted civil cases.
“There has been an overwhelming outpouring of support from judges throughout the state offering to assist in any way,” Persin said. “We want to assure the community that the cases in Tippecanoe Superior Court No. 2 will continue to be heard in a timely manner.”
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush sent a letter Sunday evening to judges across that state, telling them to reach out to their local sheriffs and take precautions.
“I worry about the safety of all our judges,” Rush wrote in Sunday night’s letter. “As you work to peacefully resolve more than 1 million cases a year, you must not only feel safe, you must also be safe. Any violence against a judge or a judge’s family is completely unacceptable. As public servants, you are dedicated to the rule of law.
“I know you join me in praying for Steve and Kim and their speedy recovery,” Rush, who is a former Tippecanoe County judge and who called Meyer “a longtime friend,” wrote. “Meantime, please remain vigilant in your own security.”
About Judge Meyer
Meyer has been judge in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 for 12 years. He’s in the final year of his second six-year term. Meyer, a Democrat, announced in December that he didn’t plan to run for a third term in 2026.
Meyer was a Lafayette City Council member for 23 years before he was on the bench.
In his announcement that he planned to serve his final year before retiring, Meyer said, “I will forever be grateful to the residents of Tippecanoe County for providing me the privilege of serving them for 35 years. It has truly been an opportunity of a lifetime. I hope they will continue to support women and men of good character who seek to serve with honor, dedication and integrity.”
Tip line
Lafayette police asked that anyone with information tied to the shooting should call the department at (765) 807-1200.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
A MESSAGE ON MLK DAY: The McAllister Meeting Rooms were standing room only Monday for an annual celebration of Martin Luther King at the Tippecanoe County Public Library’s Holman Branch in downtown Lafayette. Featured during the hourlong event was Anne M. Edwards, director of the Purdue Black Cultural Center, who keyed in on how King was clearly the leader but that tens of thousands of people along the way understood and played their roles during “their moment” in the Civil Rights movement. She suggested that the country – and the community – was “in a moment right now.”
“This is our time, in this moment,” Edwards told the crowd. “I want us to think about how equipped we are to meet the moment, because, believe it or not, we are equipped for this particular moment.”
Her suggestion, one inspired by King’s work: Be a part of the community, listen to what’s needed and then apply a personal strength or ability to change things for the better – whether that was collaborating on issues of food insecurity, housing, education or whatever’s needed.
“Each of us have our own contributions, here in this room,” Edwards said. “We have our ways of being in the things we need to do. … It’s about unity and action that means sharing resources, helping neighbors, tackling community challenges like improving schools, supporting local businesses and recognizing that individual and collective success. Successes are intertwined. This is the only way that we’re going to be able to meet this moment.”
Here’s the traditional closing of the ceremony, with a verse of “We Shall Overcome.”
DELPHI MURDERS TRIAL JUDGE RETIRING: Far afield from local candidate filings, sure, but those who followed the Delphi murder cases might take note: Fran Gull, an Allen County Superior Court judge for the past 30 years, announced that this was her final year on the bench. Gull had a prominent role in the murder case against Richard Allen, a Delphi man accused in 2022 and then convicted in 2024 in the murders of eighth-graders Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017, after she was appointed to oversee the case in Carroll Circuit Court. The pending retirement news comes as Allen’s attorneys look to line up an appeal in the case. WANE-TV in Fort Wayne had more here: “Judge Fran Gull announces end of year retirement from Allen Superior Court.”
Thanks to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Thank you for including the video of the song "We Shall Overcome" in your story about the Martin Luther King Day at the library. I especially appreciate that you scanned the crowd.
t
It will likely be more effective to pay for security upgrades at judges' homes than for more guards at the courthouse.
We are proud of our courthouses as Indiana landmarks and it would be sad if we had to move to hardened facilities, but avoiding that in Tippecanoe County would probably involve some major bulletproof glass purchases.