INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) – For army veteran Robert Gault, what was intended to be his last DoorDash delivery of the night turned into a desperate struggle for survival on Thursday morning.
While delivering a White Castle order on the north side of Indianapolis, Gault found himself in a terrifying situation when attempted carjackers shot him in the head. Astonishingly, he survived to recount the ordeal. Now recuperating at home, Gault shared with Nexstar’s WXIN his sense of having narrowly escaped death.
“I served in Iraq without a scratch, no issues,” Gault quipped. “Then I come back and get shot in the head.”
According to Gault, the person who answered the door for the delivery, along with an accomplice wearing a mask, brandished a gun at him and dashed toward his vehicle.
“I need my car. It’s as simple as that. It’s my livelihood,” he explained. “Without my car, I can’t afford to eat, live, or do anything.”
When the door first opened, Gault recalled an empty room behind the suspect. With no furniture in sight or signs that somebody lived in the apartment, he theorizes the suspects entered through the back and used the vacant apartment address so it couldn’t be traced to them.
He said he briefly took cover to find a knife he carries. When he poked his head out from behind a dumpster, he spotted the suspects in his car, then ran over and opened the car door.
“I start trying to pull the dude in the driver’s seat out, get in a scuffle, end up trying to stab him. They said there was blood on the knife, so I guess I got him.”
The pair couldn’t figure out how to drive his manual car anyway, according to Gault. But they started firing shots, one bullet piercing just behind his jaw and leaving through his nose, somehow narrowly missing anything vital – as he took off running.
“This is an unthinkable thing to happen when you’re just trying to do your job,” said Indianapolis Metro Police Department Officer Drew Brown. “We’re just thankful he’s okay.”
Brown said no arrests have been made yet, as of Thursday evening, and detectives are still in the early stages of their investigation.
A spokesperson for DoorDash provided the following statement via email: “This is an unacceptable crime and we stand ready to assist the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in bringing those responsible to justice. Our thoughts are with the Dasher, and we have reached out directly to offer our support.”
DoorDash offers an in-app safety toolkit with a 24/7 specialist safety team, access to a “safety reassurance call,” and an emergency assistance button to contact 911. More details about safety resources for drivers can be found here.
“We’re familiar with several of these different platforms that have safety features that are built in, and we want to urge anybody who is a delivery driver to familiarize themself,” said Brown.
Gault, however, told WXIN he’s likely done with DoorDash after this. But if he ever delivers again, it won’t be without a gun.
“If you’re ever in a situation like that and you do get hit, don’t just lay down and accept it. Keep moving,” Gault added.
IMPD still asks anyone with information about this incident or security video to reach out directly or anonymously through CrimeStoppers.