WNY native fatally shot in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WIVB) - A man who was originally from the Jamestown area was shot and killed during a terrifying home invasion in Indianapolis early Friday morning.

Officials tell 24-Hour News 8, in Indianapolis, that 67-year-old Thomas Tefft and his wife were in their home drinking coffee and heard a disturbance around 6:30 a.m. Friday. Tefft went to go see what was going on.

"The wife of the victim grabbed her cell phone and ran into a back room. She described hearing a pop and a scream. She called police. When we arrived here on scene we found the victim deceased," said Indianapolis Metropolitan police officer Michael Hewitt.

Officials have determined the couple left their back sliding door unlocked and the screen door was cut open. Authorities say the masked gunman, believed to be in his 20s, picked out Tefft's home for unknown reasons.

"It sickened me. I've been vacillating between being very emotional to being outraged because it is our homes and people should feel safe in our homes," said City Council member Angela Mansfield.

Mansfield rushed to the scene. She went as a concerned neighbor, not a public official. She lives just down the street and knows the Teffts.

"Super, super nice man. Very committed to our neighborhood. He and his wife are the type of neighbors everybody wants," Mansfield said.

Mansfield says several neighbors have complained about having their cars broken into recently, but crime in the neighborhood has never risen to this level before.

According to media reports, the Teffts moved from Western New York to Indianapolis in 1996. The victim's daughter told reporters who parents wanted to relocate to a new place.

The suspect stole the couple's 2009 black Hyundai Sonata that was parked in the driveway of the home. The vehicle has a license plate of IW813.

Police are searching for the car and the suspect who is described as a black man in his 20s. The gunman was wearing a black ski mask and a hoodie.