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Last updated on Monday, October 9, 2017
(FAYETTEVILLE) - One man is dead and another is behind bars after a shooting at a Fayetteville home on Friday morning.
At 11:37 a.m., Lawrence County Sheriff Central Dispatch received a 911 call with the caller reporting that he "just heard shots fired" and "a man's down outside my yard."
When police arrived they found 38-year-old Travis Lee Craig in the yard not breathing. Craig lived at the home at 5951 State Road 158.
Officers from Lawrence County, first responders from Indian Creek Volunteer Fire Department and an IU Health Hospital ambulance crew rushed to the scene.
Sheriff Mike Branham says Craig died from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and head.
There were two other people at the home at the time of the shooting - the victim's wife Debbie and her cousin, Joseph "Joey" Backenstoes, who made the call to 911, says Sheriff Branham.
Because of the proximity of the shooting, Fayetteville Elementary School was placed on lock down as a precaution while police investigated the incident. The lockdown was lifted within a few minutes. A short section of State Road 158 east of Fayetteville was shut down for several hours.
At 12:29 p.m. Sheriff Branham requested Indiana State Police crime scene technician to the scene to assist with the investigation.
The Lawrence County Coroner's Office has determined that Craig died to gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and that the manner of death was homicide.
Detectives with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department continue to investigate, interview witnesses and collect evidence.
"During the course of the investigation, detectives determined that a person of interest, Joseph "Joey" Backenstoes, had committed the unrelated offense of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony," Sheriff Branham says. " Detectives also received an anonymous tip that Backenstoes was going to Walmart and was leaving the state."
Knowing that Walmart is a bus stop, officers were on their way to Walmart when they saw Backenstoes walking along John Williams Boulevard toward Walmart.
Backenstoes was arrested without incident on the unrelated charge and remains at the Lawrence County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
If the public has any information that may be helpful to investigators, please contact Detective Sergeant Tyler Phillips at (812) 275-3316 or on the Tip-Line at (812) 277-2020. Tips may remain anonymous.
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