Staff Reports
Columbus police and a Columbus Regional Health ambulance were sent to the home of Derek Henderson, 38, Columbus, the day before Henderson was shot to death after confronting a homeowner on Home Avenue with a baseball bat.
Records of 911 dispatches show an ambulance was sent to Henderson’s home at 1803 Home Ave. about a person being ill at 11:05 a.m. Friday, and Columbus police were sent to the scene for a medic assist a few minutes later.
The ambulance was sent back to the 1803 Home Ave. address at 2:26 p.m. on Friday about a person being ill, but there is no indication officers were also dispatched to return to Henderson’s home for that ambulance run.
Henderson was shot to death after confronting a homeowner with a baseball bat inside the homeowner’s residence on Home Avenue early Saturday morning, according to Columbus police.
Henderson was shot three times with a forensic autopsy on Sunday showing he was shot in the head, chest and abdomen by the homeowner, according to a release from the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office.
Final autopsy results are pending a toxicology report, said Coroner Clayton Nolting.
Columbus police were sent to 2025 Home Ave. shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday about a shooting, the dispatch log for the E-911 center indicates.
When officers arrived, they found a man, later identified as Henderson, with multiple gunshot wounds, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The homeowner at 2025 Home Ave., who has not been identified by investigators, said he was confronted by an unknown individual with a baseball bat inside the home, Harris said. The homeowner discharged a firearm a short time later, striking the man, Harris said.
The Bartholomew County Death Investigation Team met on Monday about the case and an investigation is continuing.
The team is made up of the coroner’s office, the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, Indiana State Police, Columbus police and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
