Courtesy: Fort Wayne Police Department
UPDATE (January 4, 2022):
Fort Wayne police say that a man who died after opening fire on officers was killed by self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Late Saturday morning, officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department were sent to a house in the 10000 block of Hickory Tree Road on a report of a disturbance. They were told that a gunshot had possibly been fired. Officers reported that upon their arrival, they were fired on and a report from the FWPD confirmed that officers returned fire.
We now know that the man inside the home was 44-year-old Blake Stephen Parton. Police now say that he used an assault rifle to fire on officers outside the home – prompting police to return shots. Once inside, police and medics found him dead. Initially, it was unclear if he died as a result of the officer’s shots or if it was self-inflicted. On Monday, the coroner confirmed his death as a suicide.
The Allen County Coroner’s Office released the following:
The autopsy has been completed and notification has been made to the next of kin for the male victim that was found within his home in the 10500 block of Hickory Tree Road, in Fort Wayne, on Saturday, January 1, 2022, at approximately 13:17 hours. The decedent has been positively identified as Blake Stephen Parton male, white, 44 years of age from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Mr. Parton was involved in a domestic dispute requiring the Fort Wayne Police Department to be dispatched. Shortly after arrival Mr. Parton fired numerous rounds at Fort Wayne Police officers. Officers returned fire, and Mr. Parton became a barricaded subject. Once law-enforcement made entry the decedent was found suffering from gunshot wounds. Death was pronounced at the scene by Huntertown EMS. Cause of Death has been determined to be Gunshot Wound of Head and the Manner of Death is Suicide.
FWPD officials released the following on Monday as well:
On January 1, 2022 Officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a house in the 10500 block of Hickory Tree Road on a report of a disturbance inside of a house where a gunshot had possibly been fired.
As Officers were arriving on scene, they were fired upon by Blake Stephen Parton with an assault rife. Two Officers returned fire: Matthew Childs and Christopher Hawthorne. Once Officers returned fire the Suspect barricaded himself inside the residence.
The Suspect refused to cooperate with Police after numerous attempts were made by the Emergency Service Team and the Crisis Response Team. Once the area was secure, Emergency Service Team members located the suspect suffering from a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his barricaded residence. Huntertown EMS Pronounced the Suspect deceased at the sce
The incident remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne police say that a suspect is dead after an officer-involved shooting Saturday off Dupont close to Lima Road.
Around 11:45 a.m., officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department were sent to a house in the 10000 block of Hickory Tree Road on a report of a disturbance. They were told that a gunshot had possibly been fired. Officers reported that upon their arrival, they were fired on. A report says that officers returned fire.
It is still unclear if it was a shot by police or a self-inflicted wound that killed a man inside the home. He was pronounced dead once officers were able to get inside.
The Fort Wayne Police Department released the following:
On January 1, 2022, officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a house in the 10000 block of Hickory Tree Rd on a report of a disturbance inside of a house where a gunshot had possibly been fired.
As officers were arriving on scene, they were fired upon by the adult male suspect. Officers returned fired and the suspect barricaded himself inside the house.
Officers maintained a perimeter until the Emergency Services Team (EST) and Crisis Response Teams (CRT) arrived. CRT negotiators and EST members attempted to make contact with the suspect, but the suspect would not cooperate. EST members eventually entered the house and located the adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Medics pronounced the male deceased.
It is currently unknown if the suspect’s gunshot wound was self-inflicted or a result of the officers returning fire.
No officers or any bystanders were injured.
At this time, investigators are interviewing any witnesses and persons involved in the initial incident, as well as collecting any evidence at the scene.
The Indiana State Police will conduct a parallel investigation with the FWPD regarding the police action shooting.
