Tristan Carter

Tristan Tywan Norton Carter, a 31-year-old Black man from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was known to some by the nickname "2 Streets." He had attended Northside High School in the city where he grew up. His life was remembered by family and friends during a funeral service held on February 16, 2019, at Jerusalem Baptist Church. Though his official obituary was brief, messages left by loved ones expressed deep sorrow, with one from his mother, Teresa, mourning the loss of her "baby" and others offering prayers for his family to find strength through their pain.

On the cold evening of Saturday, February 2, 2019, Tristan’s life came to a violent and sudden end. At approximately 8:38 p.m., officers from the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in the city's southeast side. They arrived at the intersection of the 1000 block of Senate Avenue and Gaywood Avenue to find Tristan on the street, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital in critical condition, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.

The Allen County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy and officially ruled Tristan’s death a homicide, the first to occur in Allen County in 2019. The investigation was immediately launched by the Fort Wayne Police Department, in cooperation with the Allen County Prosecutor's Office and the coroner's office. Detectives canvassed the neighborhood, which is a residential area in the 46806 zip code, seeking evidence and witnesses who might have seen or heard something that could lead to the person responsible for the shooting.

For months, the case remained under active investigation with few public updates. Authorities initially did not release any information about potential suspects or a motive in the killing. The community was left with unanswered questions as detectives continued their work behind the scenes, piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting on Senate Avenue. The initial lack of an arrest left a sense of unresolved justice for Tristan's family and friends.

However, at the end of the year, new information brought a resolution to the case, though not through the criminal court system. In a year-end report on homicides in Fort Wayne, the police department revealed that the investigation into Tristan Carter’s death had concluded. They determined that the shooting was gang-related. The report also stated that the individual identified as the killer was deceased, meaning no arrest could be made.

With this development, the case of Tristan Carter’s murder was officially considered cleared by the Fort Wayne Police Department. While the circumstances of the suspect's death were not publicly detailed, the finding closed the investigation. As of January 2020, the case is no longer considered an open homicide investigation, having been solved by what law enforcement refers to as "exceptional means."