Grandfather killed trying to protect grandchildren in Montgomery County

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — A man is in jail after allegedly shooting another man in front of his grandchildren Sunday.

Deputies were dispatched to the 1900 block of Ontario Avenue at 7:25 p.m. on the report of a shooting, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck.

Upon arrival, deputies found a man in a driveway with a gunshot wound, Streck said. Deputies performed life-saving measures but the man did not survive his injuries.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office identified the man Monday afternoon as 53-year-old John Barnett.

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According to Streck during News Center 7 at 5 p.m., a man went to a home and asked for another man who was not there. Barnett’s grandsons, who are 20 and 15 years old, couldn’t calm the man down so he went over to de-escalate the situation. The man then pulled out a gun and shot Barnett in front of his two grandsons and some neighbors.

“Grandfather got there, tried to de-escalate the situation, this individual wasn’t having any of it, now there’s numerous lives ruined,” Streck said.

The man fled the scene but deputies were able to track him down a couple of blocks away in a wooded area and arrest him, according to Streck.

The suspect was booked in jail on suspicion of murder. Official charges will be determined by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office as the case progresses.

Jail records indicate only 31-year-old Joseph Flippo was booked in jail Sunday night on suspicion of murder.

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