A man is dead, apparently shot by police, after the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a reported burglary early Friday morning.
FWPD officials said a little before 2:00 Friday morning, officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress in the 1500 block of Wells Street. When police entered the home, they found an adult male.
Shots were fired, and one struck the man. While officers began medical care, medics declared the man dead at the scene upon their arrival.
According to police, no officers were injured.
The officers involved in the shooting have not yet been named by officials. They were placed on administrative leave, as is department police.
Friday's shooting was the fifth officer-involved shooting since early June, and the third fatality.
In June, 22-year-old Linzell Parhm was fatally shot by Officer Mason Wills during a traffic stop. In body camera footage released by the department, Wills orders Parhm to keep his hands on the dashboard of the car, but Parhm appears to be struggling to comply. A Draco AK-47-style pistol was found on the floor of the car at his feet.
Then, on July 30, FWPD responded to a report of a man who had escaped from DeKalb County Community Corrections' custody. Gawon Kaerey Benson, 31 was located on the campus of Purdue Fort Wayne and was reportedly armed. Body camera footage showed police ordering him to drop a gun seen in his hand. He was fatally shot by Officer Jason Fuhrman. A note suggesting "suicide by cop" was found in Benson's pocket, police said.
Less than 36 hours later, a man opened fire while an officer investigating a reported disabled vehicle on Chartwell Drive. That man suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot by police.
In early June, a FWPD officer suffered injuries and 20-year-old Zar Mi Myint was shot after police responded to a burglary call in the 4700 block of Holton Avenue. Myint reportedly opened fire on police with a fully-automatic handgun.
Friday's shooting remains under investigation by the FWPD Homicide Unit and Office of Professional Standards as well as Indiana State Police, the Allen County Coroner’s Office and the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office, according to a press release.
