On the evening of Saturday, April 3, 1999, a young Indiana State Trooper named Cory Elson was on patrol in the city of Decatur. At the age of 26, he had recently graduated from the police academy and was just under four months into his career with the Fort Wayne post. That night, he initiated a traffic stop for a pickup truck with a non-working taillight in the parking lot of an auto parts store on North 13th Street.
As Trooper Elson was getting out of his patrol car, the driver of the
truck, 38-year-old Mark L. Lichtenberger, began firing an AK-47 assault rifle. One of the first bullets went through the door of the cruiser and hit Elson in the leg. Despite his injury, he moved to the back of his vehicle and fired back at Lichtenberger. The gunman continued his assault, firing as many as 36 rounds and fatally wounding the young trooper. An employee of the auto parts store was also struck and wounded by the gunfire but managed to call 911.
Lichtenberger fled the scene after the shooting, sparking a manhunt that ended with his capture the next day. It was later revealed that Lichtenberger had reportedly told people he was tired of being pulled over by the police and intended to seek revenge. In July 2000, he was found guilty of murder. To avoid a death sentence, Lichtenberger entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional 20 years for operating a machine gun.
The death of Trooper Cory Elson was a profound tragedy for his family, who included his wife, sister, and parents, and for the entire state police force. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Elson was the second of three state troopers from the 56th ISP Recruit Academy to be killed in the line of duty within an eleven-month span. One of those troopers had been his roommate at the academy.
