Portland man in custody

A Portland man is suspected of shooting and killing two people Thursday in Hartford City.
Charles “Maddog” Whittington, 59, remains at Jay County Jail after being detained by Portland police early Thursday afternoon. He was taken into custody less than four hours after a shooting that left a father and daughter dead.
The Commercial Review first confirmed the suspect’s name late Thursday afternoon. No charges have yet been filed.
“He’s still at our facility,” Jay County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Rob Bicknell said this morning.

Hartford City Police Department this afternoon identified the the male victim of the shooting as Shane P. Williamson, 40. Police have not released the name of the female victim, but WTHR in Indianapolis is reporting her as Shane's daughter, Katelin Williamson, 14. Sources tell The Commercial Review that Katelin was a freshman at Blackford High School.
Whittington and Shane Williamson had a common female acquaintance, sources said.
Bicknell said officers from Hartford City Police Department and Blackford County Sheriff’s Department questioned Whittington on Thursday evening. Police have a 48-hour window to file charges before a suspect must be released.
A tweet from the Jay County Sheriff Twitter account this morning read: “Person of interest in HC shooting in custody. Not looking for other individuals @ this time. Investigation ongoing, Hartford City PD & BCSD.”
The victims were pronounced dead Thursday morning at the scene of the shooting at Hartford Square Apartments, 202 E. Chestnut Street, Hartford City.
According to an HCPD press release, officers were called at 9:13 a.m. and arrived at the apartment building to find a white male in the parking lot with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. They then found a white female, also with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, inside the apartment building.

"We want to put the community at ease with this being an isolated incident and no further threat exists at this time," Hartford City Police Chief Scott Mealy said in a press release this afternoon.
Portland Police Department was contacted by Hartford City Police about Whittington’s involvement, and officers waited for him at his 839 Boundary Pike home. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into Jay County Jail at 1:41 p.m. Thursday. He was not armed.
All Jay County schools were locked down for about an hour around noon Thursday as a precaution. Springer said this morning a female acquaintance of Whittington’s has children who attend Jay County High School and East Jay Middle School.
“And we knew of that connection, so that’s why we took the precaution,” said Springer.
“When we get an alert like that, we go to a lockdown at all the schools,” said Jay Schools superintendent Tim Long. “We immediately went on lockdown.”
Blackford County schools were on lockdown from about 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Most schools in the area, including those in Jay and Blackford counties, were on a two-hour delay Thursday after about 3 inches of snow fell Wednesday evening.
Signs that were on the front door of Whittington’s house Thursday identified the residence as the home of a Vietnam War veteran who served in the United States Marine Corps.
Whittington was injured in a 2014 shooting in Portland but would not give police information about the incident at that time. No arrests were made.
That incident is not believed to be related to Thursday’s shooting, Springer said.
The building where Thursday’s shootings took place was the site of a double homicide in 1960. It was then the home of William Reed Elementary School, where on Feb. 2, 1960, principal Leonard Redden shot and killed teachers Harriett Robson, 52, and Minnie McFerren, 57.
Later that day, Redden used the murder weapon to take his own life at a farm in northern Delaware County. A decorated World War II veteran, he had been suffering from mental illness.
The building opened in 1928. It had not been used as a school since 1999.
The Star Press reported that Thursday’s shooting is believed to be the first in Hartford City since 2001.
The investigation is ongoing, and Hartford City Police are asking anyone with information to contact Blackford County Sheriff’s Office at (765) 348-0930.