INDIANAPOLIS — A man accused of fatally shooting another person last week suffered injuries of his own when he and the victim exchanged gunfire following an earlier altercation, a court document alleges.
Joshua Peyton, 30, was shot once in his leg and arm by Anthony Higginson Jr., 26, who returned fire after Peyton shot him six times, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday.
Police previously said the two men were relatives.
Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department found Peyton and Higginson both shot while responding about 6:19 a.m. July 5 to the 3600 block of North Grant Avenue.
Higginson was in a nearby home while Peyton was outside leaning against a car. Officers provided aid to both men until medics transported them to separate hospitals.
Higginson was taken to Eskenazi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 7:12 a.m., according to the affidavit. His death was ruled a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the affidavit.
An investigation found the two men had gotten into an argument, which then turned into a physical altercation.
Peyton was the first to fire shots, hitting Higginson several times. Higginson then returned fire as Peyton ran away, then stopped to fire more shots at Higginson. Several rounds were fired by both men, the affidavit alleges.
A nearby car and a tree had also been hit by stray bullets.
Police later found a handgun, several spent casings and a trail of blood leading from the gun to the home where officers found Higginson shot. A second handgun was also recovered. Police determined that gun malfunctioned because a round was jammed inside it.
The shooting and the altercation leading up to it were captured on video from a nearby building.
Peyton was charged July 7 with a single count of murder. He's scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference Oct. 18 at Marion Superior Court.
