Judge Meyer ‘on the mend,’ wife says: ‘It could have been so much worse’
No arrests reported in connection with Sunday afternoon shooting at judge’s Lafayette home. Plus, Lafayette man arrested Sunday for threats against police ordered to be held with no bond.
Extra deputies were, as promised, conspicuous throughout the Tippecanoe County Courthouse Tuesday morning, as courtrooms opened for the first time after the three-day weekend and after Superior Court 2 Judge Steve Meyer was shot in a Sunday afternoon attack at his Lafayette home.
Sheriff Bob Goldsmith said ahead of the work week that additional security would be present at the courthouse “for the foreseeable future.”
Investigators looking for a suspect in the shooting, which also injured Meyer’s wife, Kim, had not offered additional details about the search or suspects, whether arrests had been made or listed additional information about the crime, as of early Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, Kim Meyer told Based in Lafayette that Steve Meyer was awake and alert. She said she wanted people to know that Steve Meyer “is on the mend.”
“His left arm is badly injured and will require additional surgeries and most likely a long rehab,” Kim Meyer said. “It could have been so much worse, though.”
Kim Meyer, who suffered injuries to her hip and was treated and released from the hospital Sunday, said she was fine, so far, “all things considered.”
Lafayette police say they responded at 2:17 p.m. Sunday to a report of a shot fired at the Meyers’ home in the Saw Mill Run subdivision off South Fourth Street. 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 who’d come to the door, telling them that he’d found their dog.
In the last public update, offered early Monday afternoon, Lafayette police said that the FBI was part of the investigation, along with Indiana State Police and other local agencies.
Meyer has been judge in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 for the past 12 years, hearing cases ranging from divorces to murders and other felonies. Meyer, a Democrat, announced in December that he did not plan to run for a third term in 2026.
Ahead of a Tuesday morning Tippecanoe County commissioners meeting, commissioner Tracy Brown, a former county sheriff, called for thoughts and prayers for the Meyers – “and to our community as a whole.”
“I think we have all been shaken to our core by what has happened,” Brown said. “Just know that an attack like this against the judiciary and the foundation of everything that’s right about the community is an attack against everybody in public service. I have very strong convictions and confidence that the person or persons involved in this attack will be found out and will face justice at some point.”
Other voices …
State Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat, issued this statement Tuesday: “I’m saddened by this senseless act of violence that has wounded two pillars of the Lafayette community. Judge Meyer is a longtime friend who has served our area for decades. I am deeply grateful that Steve and his wife, Kim, are in stable condition, and I am praying for their recovery. Thank you to the Lafayette Police Department and our local paramedics for their quick response. I believe that they will find and apprehend the individual responsible. Violence against our judges who serve selflessly and generously is unacceptable.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted this Monday afternoon: “I was devastated to learn that a sitting judge in Tippecanoe County, the Honorable Steve Meyer, and his wife were shot in their home this past weekend. Judges serve our communities by delivering justice, and they must be able to do so without fear for their own safety. Susan and I will be praying for Judge Meyer and his wife, Kim, as they recover.”
LAFAYETTE MAN ARRESTED FOR THREATS, OFFERING TO PROVIDE GUNS TO KILL POLICE, ORDERED TO BE HELD WITHOUT BOND
A Lafayette man arrested Sunday night on suspicion that he’d made a series of threats against law enforcement officers – offering to provide firearms to others willing to kill police – was being held in the Tippecanoe County Jail with no bond, after a special judge assigned to the case on Tuesday granted an emergency motion to increase his bond until he faces a judge.
Scott Pruitt, 57, of Lafayette, was arrested after being accused of making a series of threats, dating to 2025, about ambushing police officers and trying to get others to do the same, according to Indiana State Police and records filed Tuesday in Tippecanoe Circuit Court. His home in the 2200 block of Yount Street also was the subject of a police search Sunday night.
Pruitt’s arrest, made near the corner of Kossuth Street and Earl Avenue in Lafayette, came as police were searching for a suspect in the Sunday afternoon shooting of Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Steve Meyer and his wife, Kim, at the doorway of their Lafayette home.
Pruitt had not been formally charged, as of Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.
And court documents have not connected Pruitt to the judge’s case.
According to Indiana State Police, an investigation started Friday, Jan. 16, into Pruitt, based on information from an FBI tip line about threats made on social media accounts.
Court documents filed by the Tippecanoe County prosecutor Tuesday contend that Pruitt was behind a Facebook account that claimed that on Saturday, Jan. 17, the account owner would be ambushing law enforcement officers. Court documents say Pruitt stated on social media that some law enforcement officers would not make it home that night. The court documents say the Facebook account also described the home of a local police officer and offered to “provide firearms to anyone who wishes to kill law enforcement officers.”
According to Tuesday’s court documents, the FBI interviewed Pruitt in February 2025 after similar threats were posted to another social media account.
The court documents also contend that Pruitt called the Lafayette mayor’s office on Dec. 19 and twice on Jan. 8, leaving voice messages with complaints about police officers and threatening them, including wishing that an officer would be killed in a vehicle crash.
On Tuesday, Clinton Circuit Court Judge Bradley Mohler, acting as a special judge, granted the prosecutor’s request, ordering that Pruitt be held without bond for now.
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