‘Very unusual;’ Deadly shooting at Piqua park was isolated incident, police say

PIQUA — One person is dead and another person is in the hospital after police say an altercation led to a shooting in Piqua late Friday night.

Officers were initially dispatched around 11:15 p.m. to the 1500 block of Fountain Park on the report of shots being fired and two people being shot, according to Deputy Chief William Thomas with the Piqua Police Department.

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When officers arrived on scene they found one deceased victim and one injured victim who was taken by CareFlight to an area hospital.

Deacon Graham, 18, was identified as the person killed in the shooting, according to the Miami County Coroner.

The injured victim is expected to make a full recovery, Thomas said.

According to Thomas, there was an altercation that led to the shooting.

Officers developed evidence at the scene that led them to an address on Madison Avenue where the suspect was later taken into custody.

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One neighbor, Hemmo Sluiter, said he was watching TV when he heard the first shots go off and described what happened to News Center 7.

“I thought they [gunshots] were on my front porch,” Sluiter said. “I knew it wasn’t fireworks because the sound was so low and powerful.”

Thomas said this seemed to be an isolated incident and was unusual for the community.

“Very unusual. Luckily, it’s a rare thing, but also, fortunately, we resolved itself fairly quickly,” he said.

Sluiter also said he believed it was an isolated incident.

“It isn’t a lot of this going on,” Sluiter said. “I thought it was out-of-town people. But they all knew each other and all from Piqua.”

Police previously confirmed that they arrested 19-year-old Cory Miller in connection to the shooting. He was booked in jail early Saturday morning on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Miller made an initial court appearance Monday morning where he pleaded not guilty, according to court records. His bond has been set at $1 million.

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