Police say the 37-year-old man was wanted on multiple felonies and was a person of interest in a recent Indianapolis homicide.
FRANKLIN, IN — Indianapolis police fatally shot a 37-year-old wanted man Tuesday afternoon after a standoff outside a logistics complex in Franklin, authorities said. Officers had tracked the man to the 1200 block of Mitsubishi Parkway, where SWAT units surrounded a semi-truck and ordered him to surrender before gunfire ended the encounter.
Officials said the man, identified as Robert Bido of Indianapolis, was wanted on several felony charges and was a person of interest in a homicide that occurred in Indianapolis days earlier. Indiana State Police are leading the shooting investigation because it happened in Johnson County. The death came after a multi-agency search that included IMPD’s Violent Crimes Unit and Franklin police. The case now sits at the intersection of an active homicide inquiry, an internal use-of-force review, and family accounts of long-simmering domestic violence, elevating public scrutiny of both the standoff and the events that led to it.
According to police, detectives located Bido shortly after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and boxed in a semi-truck they believed he had entered. SWAT officers issued repeated commands for him to come out. Investigators said “several tactical resources” were used in an effort to de-escalate the situation. When Bido did not comply, officers opened fire, striking him. Officers rendered aid at the scene, and medics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon. Three IMPD officers discharged their weapons, the police chief said. No officers or bystanders were injured. A shotgun was later recovered near the suspect, according to state police.
Authorities said Bido was wanted on charges that included criminal confinement resulting in bodily injury, intimidation with a deadly weapon, strangulation, domestic battery in the presence of a child and pointing a firearm. Detectives also described him as a person of interest in a recent Indianapolis homicide but stopped short of naming him as a suspect. Officials did not immediately release body-camera video or the precise sequence of shots during the Franklin operation. The number of rounds fired, the distance between officers and the truck, and whether negotiators reached Bido by phone or loudspeaker remain unanswered. The Johnson County Coroner will determine the official cause and manner of death following an autopsy.
Relatives told reporters that violence at home had escalated in recent months. In an interview, Bido’s ex-wife described years of fear, restraining orders and attempts to separate. “You can’t love the demons out of someone,” she said, adding that she had seen warning signs in the weeks before the shooting. She said the strain rippled across their family as police searched for him following new allegations. Neighbors on Indianapolis’ southeast side recounted late-night disturbances and property damage in the days before the Franklin standoff. Police have not said whether any of those reports factored into the warrant work that brought officers to the warehouse corridor off U.S. 31.
The Franklin industrial park, a cluster of distribution centers and truck yards, has seen routine police calls for traffic incidents and medical runs, but fatal police gunfire is rare. The Tuesday operation unfolded during afternoon shift changes as workers moved between lots. Employees described seeing squad cars block entrances and officers arrayed behind armored vehicles near a tractor-trailer. Several said they were told by managers to shelter inside offices until police cleared the scene. The logistics district sits a few miles from downtown Franklin and about 20 miles south of Indianapolis, a route commonly used by commuters and freight traffic between the two cities.
Indiana State Police are handling the criminal investigation into the shooting, while IMPD will conduct an internal administrative review. The three officers who fired their weapons were placed on administrative duty per department policy. Detectives said they will examine dash and body-worn camera footage, radio traffic, ballistic evidence and the recovered shotgun. Investigators will also map the parking lot and truck cab where the confrontation occurred. Any findings will be forwarded to the Johnson County Prosecutor for review. Officials did not set a date for the release of video, citing the ongoing inquiry. Separately, Indianapolis detectives continue to work the earlier homicide case and have not announced any arrests.
Community members on the southeast side of Indianapolis held a small vigil for the homicide victim earlier this week, leaving candles on a cul-de-sac and notes to family. “This shook a lot of people,” said Mary Ellis, who lives several doors down. “We just want answers and for it to stop.” At the Franklin site on Wednesday morning, yellow tape still ringed part of the lot as drivers eased trucks past investigators. A warehouse worker described the scene as “quiet, then suddenly loud” as sirens and commands echoed across the loading docks. Advocates for survivors of domestic violence said the case mirrors a pattern of escalating threats that can spill into public spaces when suspects flee or are cornered.
As of Thursday, state police had not released a full timeline of the Franklin operation or a detailed account of the earlier homicide. The coroner’s findings, investigative interviews and any video release are expected in the coming days. Police said more information will be provided after key witness statements are completed and evidence is processed.
Author note: Last updated November 27, 2025.