Mishawaka murder victim was involved in argument before being shot inside home, police say

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU) - Just one day after police say 42-year-old Mishawaka resident Jarvis Redding was gunned down inside a home early Sunday morning, neighbors like Jesse Varga are recalling the very moments that shook their neighborhood.

“I was putting my daughter to bed and she says mommy, I hear some knocks on the window. I said that wasn’t a knock, maybe it was fireworks but it sounded like gunshots. She’s only seven so I didn’t want to tell her that,” Varga told 16 News Now Monday.

What Varga says came next was a phone call from her daughter who lived just doors away confirming what she feared most.

“I come flying down the stairs because my daughter called. She lives two houses down and she called me saying, mom...gunfire real close. So I come flying out the door just because I’m worried about her and my grandson and came down here. And by the time I got out the front door, the police were here,” Varga says.

According to Mishawaka Police Division Chief Dan Gebo, Redding was involved in an argument shortly before being shot inside a home at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Tenth Street.

Upon arrival, police say they found Redding inside with a gunshot wound, but no suspect.

“They were bringing him out on the stretcher and at that time. He was breathing, he was conscious and we heard that it was a gunshot wound to his stomach. So I was hopeful he would make it,” Varga said.

However, after being transferred to a local hospital, police say Redding died of his injuries.

Now, neighbors like Varga are holding onto their loved ones, especially their kids, hoping the unexpected crime doesn’t continue.

“Safety for the kids is what I’m concerned about 100 percent. All the moms here could agree that we try to look out for each other but this was pretty scary. This was very close to home, too close to home,” Varga says.

An autopsy was conducted in Kalamazoo Monday. Initial results are still pending.

At this time, no arrests have been made and Mishawaka Police have yet to name a suspect.

However, anyone with information regarding this shooting is asked to call contact the Mishawaka Police Detective Bureau at 574-258-1684 or Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.

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