INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis police say an officer mistakenly shot and badly wounded an armed homeowner who was trying to protect his wife during an attempted robbery.

Police say the shooting happened about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday after police were called about the robbery in a subdivision on the city’s far east side. Assistant Chief Randal Taylor says a gunman was trying to steal a woman’s car when she ran inside the house and her husband came outside with a gun about the time officers arrived.

Taylor says an officer shot the homeowner, who was taken to a hospital in serious condition with an abdominal wound.

Taylor says the shooting circumstances remained under investigation. The young man who tried to steal the car fled from the scene and was being sought.