BOONE COUNTY, Ind. – A bikini-clad woman who was wanted on an arrest warrant, fired a gun at police and shouted, “Today isn’t the day,” as she fled on foot in her haste to evade pursuing officers, according to a report.
Lauren Cupp, 35, of Zionsville, was wanted in Hancock County on misdemeanor charges regarding criminal trespass and battery resulting in injury. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office was aware of the crimes when a female called 911 just after 12:00 p.m. Monday to report Cupp and her children were walking in the Royal Run neighborhood, Pharos-Tribune reported.
Officers with the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department arrived first on scene and approached Cupp — who was wearing a bikini top with a towel draped across the lower half of her body — near the neighborhood clubhouse. The woman’s older child pulled a younger sibling in a wagon behind their mother as she fled on foot, BCSO Deputy Wesley Garst wrote in a news statement.
Officers John Pogorov and Reggie Thomas chased the fleeing woman as she fired at police and ran through nearby yards, WPD Captain Chris Burcham said.
“After the foot pursuit began, Ms. Cupp brandished a firearm, discharged a single shot in the direction of pursuing officers, within the residential neighborhood,” Burcham confirmed. “She starts to walk away, pulls a firearm out of her purse, and said something to the effect of ‘Today isn’t the day.’”
Neither officer was injured when Cupp fired at them, nor did they return fire, authorities said. The bikini-clad woman wearing a floppy hat on her head fled into a wooded area, abandoning her children in the process, according to dispatch records.
Law enforcement authorities quickly moved the kids to safety, and the Indiana Department of Child Services later placed Cupp’s children in the care of a relative, Garst said.
K9 Handler/Officer Josh Stutsman with the Zionsville Police Department and K9 Mika led personnel to Cupp’s hiding location in the woods, Garst noted.
Cupp was taken into custody and subsequently booked at the Boone County Jail in Lebanon. The booking charges include criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, neglect of a dependent, and resisting law enforcement in addition to pre-existing charges, reported Pharos-Tribune.
According to Garst, the Hancock County warrant was issued in October, and sheriff’s personnel tried several times to serve it, “but she never answered the door.” He noted they do not generally force entry while serving misdemeanor warrants.
Authorities previously identified a TikTok account belonging to Cupp where she posted a video while ignoring the “domestic terrorism” of deputies knocking on the door to serve the Hancock County warrant.
Furthermore, she posted a video plea for assistance as she hid Monday in the woods, Burcham said.
