On the night of March 5, 2023, 62-year-old security guard Robert Pulliam Jr. was shot and killed at the Wayne Street parking garage in downtown South Bend, Indiana. Pulliam, employed by a company contracted to provide security for the city, was on duty when he confronted a man reportedly loitering and peering into parked vehicles. About 11:20 p.m., police were dispatched after reports of a shooting; officers found Pulliam with apparent gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators identified 35-year-old Derrick Pratcher as the man Pulliam had asked to leave. Pulliam was a United States Marine Corps veteran who later worked as a steelworker, belonged to the Ironworkers Union and the stage workers union at the Morris Performing Arts Center, and was described by family as a devoted outdoorsman who loved camping and fishing. He is survived by a daughter and several grandchildren.