A small-town Indiana businessman was fatally shot and two police officers were injured when a man confronted his estranged wife and opened fire outside her home before taking his own life, police said Friday.
Authorities said the businessman was an innocent bystander.
The incident in Pendleton, a community about 25 miles northeast of Indianapolis, occurred a day after Claudia Bailey had been granted a protective order prohibiting her estranged husband, Kenneth James Bailey, 59, of New Castle, from coming near her, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Police said they found Kenneth Bailey's body outside his wife's home Friday morning after a manhunt. A police dog also was killed.
The shooting and death of local businessman John Neal Shull Jr., 48, shook the small community, where many residents of the roughly 4,000 residents know one another.
"He was a friend of mine," Pendleton Police Chief Marc Farrer said of Shull, his voice breaking. "He is a great guy, a good father and he volunteers in the town."
Madison County Emergency Management spokesman Todd Harmeson told The Associated Press that Shull was "an innocent bystander that was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"When the gunfire occurred, he was right there," he said.
Shull's wife, Noelle, told The Star that her husband was headed home after spending the evening working in a former residence that they were preparing to sell. She said she heard the gunshots and saw a pickup truck just doors from their home but didn't realize it was her husband's.
"My husband was just a man trying to come home to his wife," she told WTHR-TV.
Shull owned N.S. Painting Co., a residential and commercial painting business. A 1983 graduate of Mount Vernon High School in northeastern Hancock County, he was also a member of the local Kiwanis Club and helped organize the annual Falls Park Car Show, The Star reported.
Farrer said the shooting occurred during a confrontation between the Baileys, who The Star said had been separated for several months.
Farrer said it wasn't clear what made Kenneth Bailey start shooting. Police believe Shull was struck before they arrived.
Neighbor Arlene Dawson told The Star she was awakened by shots and saw a shadowy figure lurking on her neighbor's driveway with a "long gun." She said she heard woman screaming, "Stop! Stop! Don't do it."
"Next thing I know, he was shooting," Dawson said.
Farrer said Kenneth Bailey was found dead outside his wife's home about 6 a.m. Friday. He had a flak jacket, handgun and gas mask with him.
"He came with an ill intent," Farrer said.
Claudia Bailey was not injured, police said. Autopsies are pending on Shull and Kenneth Bailey. Farrer said it wasn't clear if any police bullets struck Kenneth Bailey.
Anderson police officer Marty Dulworth, an 11-year veteran of the force, was wounded in both legs and underwent surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis. Anderson Police spokesman Joel Sandefur said Dulworth's K-9 partner, Kilo, was shot by fellow officers after he mistook another officer as an aggressor and attacked him in the confusion after Dulworth was shot amid "overwhelming gunfire."
A Pendleton police officer was grazed in the neck by a bullet but returned to duty to help in the search for Bailey.
Four SWAT teams evacuated several nearby homes nearby during the standoff. Residents were allowed to return after Kenneth Bailey was found dead.
"People live here. They feel safe here, and they should. You never know when an incident like this could occur," Farrer said.
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