Austen Wable

Introduction

Austen Wable, a 28-year-old Muncie, Indiana man, was arrested on October 8, 2026 after authorities allege he stormed into a Muncie IHOP restaurant, fired a gun during a confrontation with a cook he accused of sleeping with his wife, chased the worker through the parking lot with a knife, and then led police on a chase that exceeded 110 mph before ending when the SUV he was driving crashed into a house . According to documents filed in Delaware County, Wable is preliminarily charged with six felony counts and two misdemeanor counts, and he was being held without bond pending a bond hearing .

Background Information

Public records and news coverage identify Wable as a Muncie resident who was, at the time of the incident, married and driving his wife’s Buick Enclave SUV . His criminal history is central to the case: in 2021 he was convicted of carrying a handgun without a license, a conviction that prohibited him from possessing a firearm when the IHOP incident occurred . No attorney for Wable was named in early coverage, and he made no public statement about the allegations.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. Wable faces six preliminary felony counts — three Level 5 and three Level 6 — plus misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and driving while suspended. The confrontation, knife chase and crash narrative comes from court documents and witness accounts reported by NY Post and FOX59. The cook refused to cooperate with the investigation, Wable refused to answer questions, no attorney was listed for him, and none of the charges has been adjudicated.

Muncie police were dispatched to the IHOP on the afternoon of Thursday, October 8 after a caller reported that a man — later identified as Wable — had come into the restaurant with a gun and shot it, according to the documents; a firearm and a shell casing were recovered at the scene . The stated motive, per the caller and documents, was that a cook at the restaurant was allegedly having sex with Wable’s wife . A witness told officers Wable was “extremely drunk” and said he pushed the kitchen worker while shouting “You f–ked my bitch, bro,” then pointed a gun at him .

The witness said the gun went off during the confrontation — Wable allegedly suffered a gunshot wound to the leg in the discharge, which one witness account attributed to Wable shooting himself, noting a hole in the back of his pants and quoting him as saying “I’m leaking” . As the confrontation moved into the parking lot, the witness said Wable continued yelling at the cook and chased him with a knife; it remains unclear whether he carried the blade into the restaurant . Wable then left in his wife’s Buick Enclave, which Muncie police located using FLOCK license-plate readers near Biltmore Avenue; when a traffic stop was initiated, he allegedly sped off instead .

The pursuit reportedly reached speeds above 110 mph, with the SUV weaving through traffic, driving left of center and at one point going airborne, nearly striking oncoming vehicles, according to the documents . It ended when the SUV crashed into a home on South County Road 400 East in Liberty Township . Officers reported Wable exited the vehicle “stumbling to his right” and seeming “disoriented,” ignored commands, and was subdued with a Taser; officers then confirmed he had been shot in the leg, and his wound was treated . Per the documents, the preliminary counts are: criminal recklessness for shooting a firearm into an inhabited building (Level 5 felony), intimidation with a deadly weapon (Level 5), unlawful carrying of a handgun (Level 5), pointing a firearm (Level 6), resisting law enforcement with a vehicle (Level 6), and OWI endangering a person (Level 6), along with misdemeanor resisting-law-enforcement and driving-while-suspended counts .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case drew immediate local and national attention after Delaware County court documents became public, with FOX59/WXIN in Indianapolis and The Star Press in Muncie reporting the charging details on October 9 and the NY Post carrying the story nationally on October 14 under a headline focused on the infidelity accusation . The cook Wable allegedly targeted refused to cooperate with the investigation, according to the documents, and the witness who tried to de-escalate the confrontation became the state’s key account of both the shooting and the knife chase . Coverage emphasized that Wable was prohibited from possessing a firearm at all because of his 2021 conviction — making his alleged armed confrontation inside a family restaurant a direct violation of that prohibition .

Current Status

As of mid-October 2026, Wable was being held without bond in the Delaware County Jail pending his bond hearing, and the six felony counts and two misdemeanor counts against him remain preliminary charges that had not yet been formalized by a prosecutor’s information or indictments . He was arrested October 8, 2026, refused to answer questions after his arrest, and no attorney was listed for him in coverage of his initial court documents . He has not entered a plea and has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Wable faces serious exposure: a single Level 5 felony in Indiana carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison, meaning the three Level 5 counts alone expose him to up to 18 years if convicted . His gunshot wound was treated, but the crash into an occupied home, the near-miss with oncoming traffic and the discharge of a firearm inside a restaurant left him facing charges that, combined with his prior 2021 handgun conviction, would brand him a repeat violent offender if proven . The episode has already cost him his liberty — held without bond — and the public record now permanently associates his name with the shooting, the knife chase and the 110 mph flight that ended in a crashed SUV.

Sources

• NY Post, “Indiana gunman accuses IHOP cook of having sex with his wife before chasing him with knife: court docs,” Oct 14, 2026 — source
• FOX59 (Indianapolis), “Docs: Muncie man confronts IHOP cook with gun, leads police on high-speed chase, crashes into home,” Oct 9, 2026 — source
• The Star Press (Muncie), “Muncie man held after police chase, crash follows shots at restaurant,” Oct 9, 2026 — source