Wedding in southern Indiana ends with arrest of groom, guest after 'drunken' brawl

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A wedding reception in southern Indiana this past weekend turned violent, resulting in a shooting and the arrest of the groom and a member of the wedding party.

It happened late Saturday night in the parking lot of Cornerstone Hall at 1500 N Rc Morris Drive after a wedding for Corey Parker and his bride, according to court documents.

The incident started when a member of the wedding party — identified in court documents as Jonathan Goff — got into an argument after he was accused of flirting with the wife of the shooting victim, Patrick McIntosh.

Indiana State Police troopers were sent to the reception hall after McIntosh's girlfriend called 911 to report Parker shot McIntosh during an argument and physical fight with Goff. The woman told police she thought it was "a drunken accident" and that she and everyone else involved were intoxicated.

During an interview with investigators, Parker identified Goff as his wife's best friend's husband, whom he had known for a while. Parker said he was trying to calm Goff down as they argued in his car, where a gun was located in the center console that Parker claimed everyone involved knew was there.

At some point, McIntosh entered the fray, and Parker said he thought McIntosh was reaching for the gun. Parker claimed he did not pull the trigger, but was reaching for the weapon because Jonathan was "beating the crap" out of him.

Parker told police the gun was in both of his and Goff's hands at that point, and "he did not know the gun was going off until it fired," according to court documents.

McIntosh's girlfriend was near the car when the gun went off, and told investigators she did not see the shooting, but she heard it.

McIntosh was shot in the hand but was not seriously injured.

After reviewing footage from the Cornerstone Hall, investigators decided to charge Parker and Goff with battery because both had visible injuries and witnesses stated that they had been fighting.

Goff and Parker were arrested and taken to the Washington County Jail. They're charged with battery and criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon.

The judge set a $3,000 full cash bond for each defendant, and they were released Monday after it was posted. They are due back in court in June.