Greenwood police are searching for a man who exposed himself to children while pointing a gun.
An officer was called to 188 Dresden Drive at the Trotters Pointe Apartment complex just before 4 p.m. Tuesday.
A resident told police that her 7-year-old son was playing outside unsupervised with two other children, ages 7 and 9, when a white man pacing back and forth along the sidewalk pulled out a handgun and pointed it to the ground before pulling down his pants, and exposing himself in front of the children, according to the police report.
“Someone waving a gun and exposing himself to kids is pretty serious, but there’s not a lot we can do except patrol,” Greenwood Police Department Assistant Chief Matt Fillenwarth said. Police would need a resident to provide more information about a possible suspect to take further action, he said.
“Anytime you live along an interstate, you can get all sorts of weird stuff going on,” he said. The apartment complex is located off Main Street just east of the Interstate 65 exit.
The officer interviewed the children after speaking to the mother. One of the children told police that the man walked out from between two apartment buildings and onto the sidewalk. He was wearing a backward hat, glasses, a blue shirt and brown shorts.
When the children screamed and began to run away after the suspect exposed himself, the man got into a silver car and drove off, according to the report.
The officer checked between the buildings where the children reported seeing the man, who was described as in his 20s or 30s, and then checked with the Trotters Pointe Apartment complex for possible surveillance footage from security cameras.
Police have set up extra patrols for the area.
“When officers aren’t taking runs, they’ll drive through; and typically the appearance of a squad car driving through will make you think twice,” Fillenwarth said.
