Press Release

HUNTINGTON — The man killed in a Huntington County officer-involved shooting has been identified as Matthew T. Melzoni, 36, Wabash.

The Huntington County Coroner’s office has made notification to Melzoni’s family. Toxicology results related to the autopsy are pending and not available for release at this time.

As this is an ongoing criminal investigation by the Indiana State Police, no further information regarding the autopsy is available for release at this time.

At 3:35 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, Huntington Police responded to a disturbance call in the 100 block of Shultz Drive on the city’s southwest side. Upon arrival, officers saw Melzoni operating a backhoe-style piece of machinery, actively destroying property around the neighborhood. Officers from Huntington Police Department and the Huntington County Sheriff’s Department became engaged in a lengthy pursuit of Melzoni around the neighborhood, including the area of Horace Mann Elementary and Riverside Middle School, where he continued causing damage to private and public property.

During the pursuit a gunfire exchange took place, resulting in Melzoni’s death and injury to a Huntington police officer. The officer was taken by ambulance to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where he was last listed in serious but stable condition. No other officers nor bystanders injured during the course of this shooting incident.

Indiana State Police will not be releasing the identities of the officers involved in this incident until the Huntington County Prosecutor has reviewed the completed case investigation and subsequently authorizes the release of that information.