What was meant to be one of the happiest days of a couple’s lives ended in travesty after the groom and a guest at an Indiana wedding were arrested following an apparent shooting at the reception.
Corey Parker, who was only hours into celebrating his marriage, was arrested on 18 May outside Cornerstone Hall in Salem, his wedding reception venue, and charged with battery and criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon.
While Mr Parker and his spouse have been legally married since 2022, according to marriage records obtained by WAVE 3, the occasion appeared to be a wedding and marriage celebration.
During the wedding reception celebrations, a 911 call was placed to Indiana State Police by a woman who alleged Mr Parker had shot her boyfriend during an argument with a man named Jonathon Goff, explaining to police she thought it had been a drunken accident, court documents obtained by the outlet described.
The shooting allegedly stemmed from an initial disagreement between Mr Goff and his own wife after he was accused of flirting with another woman, the outlet reported.
Mr Goff’s wife and the new bride had left the reception to return to a hotel in Salem. When Mr Parker also announced he was leaving afterwards, he and Mr Goff reportedly got into an argument, which escalated into the pair shoving each other, the outlet said.
Mr Parker got into his car, which held a gun in the center console, when Mr Goff came upon him.
The gun managed to get mangled in both their hands when “in all the rustle and bustle, the gun went off,” Mr Parker told police, striking the 911 caller’s boyfriend in his hand, WAVE 3 reported.
Mr Parker said, according to the outlet, that he did not intend to shoot the man, and did not even know where he had come from while he was locked in the brawl, but suspected that he came over to try and get the gun off both men.
While the victim was sent to hospital with hand injuries, both men were arrested and booked into Washington County Jail in Salem, with visible injuries in their mugshot pictures.
Mr Parker appeared in court on 20 May and pleaded not guilty. He was given a $3,000 cash bond, which was posted on Thursday, court records show.
Mr Goff has also been charged with battery and criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon. He was also released on a $3,000 bond after pleading not guilty.
The groom and Mr Goff are expected to both be back in court on 3 September for a jury trial.
The Independent has contacted the Indiana State Police for further information.
