Man killed in Darke County shooting identified; 1 charged with murder

LIBERTY TWP. — A man dead and another is in custody after a shooting in Darke County Thursday night.

Crews received a call around 7:30 p.m. of someone shot at a residence in the 5000 block of Smith Road, according to Darke County Sheriff’s Office.

When crews arrived on scene they found a man, later identified as William Duncan, 62, of Darke County, outside near a backdoor with what appeared to be a gunshot wound.

Duncan was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Deputies took William Fields, 58, who is a resident at the address into custody. Fields has been booked into the Darke County Jail. He was charged with murder and arraigned Friday. His bail was set $150,000.

This kind of incident is rare in the area, Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker told News Center 7.

“This is not something that happens every day [in Darke County] by any means,” the sheriff said. “But we have a tragic situation and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

The relation between the victim and suspect is not known at this time.

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