On the night of November 23, 2021, police in Kokomo, Indiana, responded to a shooting at a residence on the city’s northeast side. Officers found 69-year-old Rodney Eric Tolle on a bed with a gunshot wound to the back of his head; he was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis and died the next day. Another man, 29-year-old Joshua D. Briscoe, was found outside the home with multiple shotgun wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses at the scene identified 38-year-old Zachary Thomas as the shooter. Thomas was located walking near the residence shortly afterward and taken into custody; he was charged in connection with the two deaths. Tolle was a longtime Kokomo resident, a 1971 Hayworth High School graduate who worked for three decades at the Chrysler casting plant before retiring in 2004 and later owned Rod’s Towing and Storage. He is survived by three sons and grandchildren and was known for his interest in classic cars and Mother Earth News.

The motive for the shootings has not been publicly detailed. Does anyone have information about Rodney Tolle, his life in Kokomo, or the events of that night?