(Photo provided by Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department)

One individual is in custody and a second is dead after an early morning pursuit in Pierceton.

The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and the Pierceton Police Department are currently investigating a pursuit and shooting incident that occurred this morning on the west side of the Town of Pierceton.

At approximately 4:34 a.m.  Pierceton Deputy Marshal Matt Owens attempted to perform a traffic stop on a vehicle on SR 13. The driver began to flee, turning westbound onto Market Street from SR 13. The pursuit continued onto Tower Street, where the suspect vehicle crashed into a fence. As two individuals exited the vehicle and fled on foot, Officer Owens heard a gunshot.

Officer Owens was able to take the first suspect, identified as Sterling R. Templeton, 34, Garrett, into custody. Several officers from Winona Lake Police Department, Warsaw Police Department, KCSD and the Indiana State Police converged on the west side of Pierceton in an attempt to locate the second suspect.

(Photo by John Faulkner)

Officers heard a second gunshot during the manhunt, and sheriff’s deputies located the person who is preliminarily believed to be the second suspect, deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in a vacant parking lot at the end of Tower Street.

The Kosciusko County Coroner has been summoned to the scene, along with members of the Kosciusko County Special Crimes Investigation team to further investigate.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

The Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office advises that the defendant’s charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related article: Pursuit Ends In Crash, Manhunt Underway