On the evening of Friday, July 21, 2023, Othello Harris, a 38-year-old Black man, was fatally shot inside his home on the 2500 block of Monroe Street in Gary, Indiana. Police were called at 9:12 p.m.; a woman who identified herself as his wife led officers to the rear of the residence where Harris was found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. The coroner ruled the death a homicide.

The case note includes an earlier episode involving Harris: in July 2009 he was arrested in Columbia, Missouri, after an officer recognized him as matching a suspect description. A background check showed outstanding warrants from Gary for a March 2008 homicide and for cocaine possession. Those 2008 warrants related to the death of 22-year-old Jacob Cottom, who was alleged to have been shot with a sawed-off shotgun inside a Gary housing project and whose body was reportedly wrapped, placed in a trash bin, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. After the 2009 arrest, Harris was charged with resisting arrest and faced extradition to Indiana.

As of the last reports in July 2023, no arrests had been announced and no suspects had been publicly identified in Harris’s killing. If anyone knew Othello Harris or has information about the shooting, please come forward to assist the investigation.