Fort Wayne officer won’t be charged in man’s fatal shooting

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A Fort Wayne police officer who fatally shot a man after a police chase won’t face charges in the shooting.

The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday that Officer Chris Hawthorne’s fatal shooting of 26-year-old Shaquille Kelly was justified.

Kelly was fatally shot May 22 after a police chase ended when he crashed his car.

Prosecutors said Kelly exited his crash-damaged car carrying a handgun and that Hawthorne “reasonably believed that force was necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death to himself and other officers.”

Prosecutors said testing found that a .45 caliber handgun found near Kelly’s body had his DNA on it.

Melina Dominquez, the mother of Kelly’s four children, told The Journal Gazette she believes Kelly was pulled from the car and shot.

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