INDIANAPOLIS (WKRC) — A mother shot a man she allegedly found attempting to rape her 12-year-old daughter in a hotel room.
The suspect was identified as 39-year-old Bruce Pierce. He was critically injured and later charged with attempted rape, attempted child molestation, unlawful possession of a firearm, and confinement, according to court documents.
Pierce, who has been a registered sex offender since September 2019, has a history of child molestation convictions. State records showed that he was previously convicted twice in 2016 and classified as a “sexually violent predator,” serving an eight-year prison sentence for those charges, according to Fox59.
The incident occurred on May 24, when the mother allegedly entered a hotel room to find Pierce pinning down her daughter with a gun in his hand. The 12-year-old’s shirt was partially ripped, and she reportedly said Pierce was attempting to remove her clothes while restraining her.
According to WTHR, the 12-year-old and her sister alerted their grandmother on the night of May 24 after their mother failed to return home. The grandmother and the children drove to a local Baymont Inn, where they found the mother with Pierce in the hotel lobby.
The mother and her other daughter were taking items to their car when the 12-year-old was left alone with Pierce in his hotel room. Upon returning, the mother allegedly heard her daughter saying, “No, no, no,” while Pierce was on top of her, holding her down.
The mother then fired multiple shots at Pierce using her own weapon. The family managed to escape and drove away, while Pierce was later taken to Eskenazi Hospital for treatment.
Pierce was last seen at a local Regal 8 Inn on West Washington St. in Indianapolis but has been missing since Tuesday morning. A spokesperson for the Indianapolis Police Department declined to comment on the investigation and the ongoing search for Pierce, according to PEOPLE.
