Fort Wayne man wanted for murder in May shooting

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A warrant was issued Tuesday for a 27-year-old Fort Wayne man accused of fatally shooting a woman after a dispute.

BACKGROUND: Woman dead following Thursday night shooting on Fort Wayne’s south side

Nicholas McPherson is wanted on one count of murder in connection with the death of 48-year-old Shonte Evette McDonald. She was gunned down at a home in the 200 block of Maple Grove Avenue, between Lafayette and South Calhoun streets.

While police were responding to the homicide scene, McPherson was dropped off at the hospital with gunshots to the arm and chest, according to court records obtained by 21Investigates. The man who drove McPherson there told police that the suspect ran to his car, yelling that he had been shot.

During the drive to the hospital, McPherson identified the person who shot him as “Shonte.”

McPherson told police he paid rent at the home and that McDonald told him he had to leave, claiming she attempted to hold a door shut to keep him out, court records show. He said that when he entered the home, McDonald shot him and he grabbed a nearby gun and returned fire.

Crime scene technicians located shell casings at the scene, including one .380 caliber shell casing near the victim’s body and four 9mm shell casings by the front door, court documents say. Police later found a pink Taurus GX2 9mm pistol in the vehicle used to take McPherson to the hospital.

An examination found that the four 9mm casings were fired from the pink pistol.

A Ring camera from a nearby home captured a woman either saying “get out of my…” or “get off of my...” followed by one gunshot, a brief pause, and then four rapid gunshots.

Police spoke to a second witness who was at the home about 30 to 40 minutes before the shooting and said there was a dispute between the suspect and victim over McPherson’s child.

The second witness told police she saw McPherson ball his hand into a fist twice as if he was going to strike her and later McDonald, court documents say. Part of the dispute was captured on McPherson’s phone and showed McDonald grabbing the suspect’s neck while holding his baby and telling him to leave her home.

After that, the second witness told police, things seemed to calm down, and McPherson left the house.

RELATED: Allen County coroner identifies woman killed in Thursday evening shooting

Police also interviewed a third witness, the mother of McPherson’s child, who said she was not present for the dispute, court records show. She said that McPherson texted her between the dispute and shooting, saying, “REDACTED f****d up.”

McPherson allegedly later deleted the text, but police were able to recover it.

The third witness told police the pink pistol was hers, but she forgot to take it to work with her that day, court documents say. She told police she last saw the gun on a table in the home’s basement, adding that she allowed McPherson to carry it occasionally.

The woman told police that while there had been ongoing issues between McPherson and McDonald over the baby and rent, it never became physical, court records show.

She alleged that McPherson told her about the shooting, and it didn’t make sense, saying the suspect claimed he was trying to leave when McDonald grabbed and shot him, so he returned fire. That account, police noted, contradicted his statements to police.

Those with information on McPherson’s whereabouts can contact the Allen County Sheriff’s Department Warrants & Fugitive Division at 260-449-3343.

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