A man shot and killed by Huntington police as he operated a backhoe Sunday never fired at officers, Indiana State Police said Friday.
State police said in an update Friday afternoon that there was no “exchange of gunfire” between Matthew T. Melzoni, 36, of Wabash and officers just after 3:30 a.m., as originally reported. Police were called to the area of Schultz Drive and Etna Avenue because Melzoni was destroying property with a backhoe.
When police arrived, Melzoni pulled away in the backhoe and led officers on a 15-20 minute pursuit around the neighborhood and onto the Horace Mann Elementary and Riverside Middle School campus, where he continued to damage public property. State police said the investigation was ongoing, but the case was expected to be turned over to prosecutors within the “next few days.”
