The Allen County Coroner reported that during a double fatal shooting inside a north side residence on Wednesday morning, a 43-year-old mother shot her 7-year-old son in the chest then shot herself in the head.
On Thursday, the coroner determined that Kari Lynn Beck’s death was a suicide and that of her son Oscar L. Beck was a homicide.
Around 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday, emergency personnel were dispatched to the 1100 block of Skyline Pass, which is northeast of the intersection of Coldwater and Cook Roads. There, they discovered Beck and her son suffering from gunshot wounds, according to detectives.
According to authorities, both were discovered by family members and were already dead when they arrived.
By Wednesday night, a tiny monument with flower bouquets had been erected outside the house.
Martin Carbaugh, a state representative from the 81st Dist., resides next door to the location of the incident.
Carbaugh said on Wednesday that the grief being experienced at the moment is inexplicable. “Since I was five years old, I’ve known our neighbour. In seventh grade, her father coached my basketball team. We would accompany them to church. We are really near. They really have been a kind of extended member of the family and our kids have spent a lot of time there with their son.
A dozen neighbours watched Wednesday as the remains of Beck and her kid were removed from the house just before one o’clock, some sobbing and hugging loved ones.
The Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Allen County Coroner’s Office are still looking into the shooting.
