A large house party in the 1100 block of East Lewis Street in Fort Wayne turned deadly in the early morning hours of July 26, 2020. Police estimated roughly 100 people were at the gathering when gunfire erupted around 3:55 a.m., striking three adults. Officers found one man deceased at the scene; he was later identified as 29-year-old Frederick D. Sanders, a Fort Wayne resident. Two other adults suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital.

Detectives appealed to the many witnesses who had been present as they worked to reconstruct the sequence of events. On August 7, 2020, police announced an arrest: 28-year-old Darius Holiness was taken into custody and charged with murder in connection with Sanders’s death, along with criminal recklessness and possession of cocaine. Anyone who was at the party or has information about what happened that night is asked to come forward.