Michael Norris, 21, of Hartford City, Indiana, was killed in a shooting shortly before 3:00 a.m. on June 29, 2025. Deputies were called to a home on South County Road 500 East, south of Montpelier in rural Blackford County; Norris was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner ordered an autopsy at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

The shooting followed a large early-morning gathering where a fight reportedly broke out. The Blackford County Major Incident Team worked with Hartford City police and Indiana State Police as investigators tried to determine who fired and why. Authorities initially said two suspects were taken into custody while evidence and interviews were gathered.

As the probe expanded beyond Blackford County, detectives began tracking leads into other parts of Indiana and Ohio. By early August, a suspect was publicly identified as Deontae Gabbard of Richmond; he was arrested at an apartment complex and reported to face murder and additional felony firearm and intimidation-related charges. Two others at the arrest scene were also taken into custody on allegations of assisting a criminal, later named as Chloe Throop and Jakia Cottman.

If anyone attended that gathering or has information about movements to or from the party that night, can you help investigators by coming forward?