3 dead in shooting north of downtown Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Three people are dead after shots rang out early Thursday morning just north of downtown.

Emergency personnel responded to the area of Fourth and Harrison streets around 12:05 where they found a man on a sidewalk suffering from gunshot wounds. 

Medics transported him to a hospital in critical condition, where he died a short time later. He was identified later as Dernail Ivory Brown, 26, of Fort Wayne. The Allen County Coroner’s Office said Richards died of a gunshot wound to the back and his death was ruled a homicide.

While police were responding to the first scene, they got a call about a crash a few blocks away near Fourth and Wells streets. When they got there, they found two men inside the vehicle that had crashed into a parked car. Both men inside were also suffering from gunshot wounds.

One of those victims was pronounced dead at the scene. He has been identified as Deshaun Devon Richards, 25, of Fort Wayne.  An autopsy determined he died from a gunshot to the head.

The other man was transported to a hospital where he eventually died. That person has been identified as Breondon Devon Pinkston, 28, of Fort Wayne. The Allen County Coroner’s Office determined that Pinkston died from multiple gunshot wounds.   

Police are still working to confirm what led to the shooting and how the victims are connected. 

No suspect information was immediately available.

Several witnesses came forward to police and gave an account of what they saw. Investigators said they’re hopeful that information could help clear up what happened.

Detectives were also collecting security camera footage around the area, which includes a small shopping mall and a bar.

Fourth Street was closed from Wells to Clinton street while investigators worked the scene. It took several hours to clear the scene because of how big it was.