man has been charged with attempted murder after the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to reports of gunfire inside the Georgetown Kroger on Thursday evening.
Due to the ongoing investigation, the grocery store remained closed on Friday but is anticipated to reopen on Saturday at 7 a.m.
According to Allen Superior Court documents released on Friday, 20-year-old Richard Klaff Jr. reportedly told police that he had “always wanted to kill somebody.”
Officers responded to multiple reports of a man shooting inside the Georgetown Kroger at 6310 E State Blvd shortly before 6:15 p.m., according to an FWPD release.
Upon arrival, officers discovered that the suspect had already fled the scene.
They then searched the store for any victims or additional shooters but found none.
However, they did find several shell casings inside the Kroger.
While on the scene, officers received information about a man near the store matching the shooter’s description. He was subsequently apprehended.
Early Friday morning, the FWPD identified the suspect as Klaff. He faces preliminary charges of three counts of attempted murder and one count of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
Klaff was booked into the Allen County Jail. Authorities do not believe any other suspects were involved, and there is no active threat to the community, according to the FWPD press release.
In court documents released Friday, an FWPD officer noted that Klaff “recorded himself attempting to murder two employees and an unknown customer.”
A Facebook Live video, which has since been removed, went viral showing Klaff in a bathroom threatening to shoot 11 people. He then walked around Kroger live-streaming, using racial slurs and saying, “So who am I choosing, hold on. Let me find someone good real quick…
I’m going out with a bang.” He added, “Oh yeah, I see one, watch, I see one,” before appearing to fire six shots at a Black woman and two employees in the bakery, at which point the video cuts off.
During questioning, Klaff reportedly inquired if anyone had been killed. He allegedly admitted to having a loaded gun with 11 bullets, explaining his mention of killing 11 people in a Facebook video.
Investigators pressed him on targeting specific individuals, and Klaff supposedly stated he avoided shooting elderly people.
The report claims he confessed to choosing his victims based on their vulnerable positions, lacking any cover.
Most disturbingly, Klaff allegedly expressed a long-held desire to kill, mentioning wanting to join the military to fulfill that urge.
