UPDATE: Man found shot to death at Bloomington homeless camp Tuesday identified
This story has been updated to identify the victim.
Bloomington police are investigating the Tuesday afternoon death of a 52-year-old man found shot inside a tent in a homeless encampment in the woods behind Wheeler Mission on the city's near-west side.
Monroe County Coroner Joani Stalcup has identified the victim as Curtis Butler of Bloomington. She confirmed Butler died of injuries from a gunshot wound, and said an autopsy was scheduled for Thursday.
A month ago, a 31-year-old unhoused man was discovered dead in the same area, the victim of an apparent machete attack.
About 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a report that a man had been shot near Wheeler Mission, which is off West Third Street in the 200 block of South Westplex Avenue. According to a Bloomington Police Department news release, bystanders directed officers to the wooded area behind the mission, where there is a large homeless encampment.
"Officers located a 52-year-old man inside a tent with what appeared to be a gunshot wound," the news release said. "Individuals in the area reported hearing multiple gunshots just prior to calling 911." The man was dead when police arrived.
As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, no arrests had been made. The news release said the victim and the person who shot him knew one another, and that "investigators will continue to follow-up on leads throughout the evening in an effort to identify and locate a suspect."
On the evening of Dec. 7, police called to the same homeless camp found the body of 31-year-old Shaquille Phillips face down in a creek bed with deep cuts to his head. Craig Allen Pearson, a 42-year-old unhoused man, was charged with murder in the attack, which happened about 200 feet northeast of the mission.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man found shot dead at Bloomington homeless camp near mission
