$400K Bond Set in Indiana Workforce Development Office Shooting

An Indiana Department of Workforce Development auditor has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder after authorities said he fired a shotgun into an agency office in northwestern Indiana.

Bond was set at $400,000 for Edgar Tillery, 60, of Portage, said Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel.

Tillery became upset March 5 during a poor job review, in which a manager told him the public and co-workers had complained about him, according to court documents. The manager told him he had 90 days to improve his performance, according to a probable cause affidavit.

After Tillery refused to change his practices, the supervisor told him he should perhaps consider resigning, to which Tillery replied, “I have an answer to that in my car,” court documents said.

Tillery, a Workforce Development auditor for 19 years, returned from his car with a shotgun and fired through the glass front door an office supervisor had locked behind Tillery, according to police. He fired a second shot inside the office as his 16 co-workers fled in all directions out the back door, police said. No one was hurt.

Tillery told police officers after he surrendered at gunpoint that faulty ammunition had prevented him from firing more shots, according to court documents. Investigators reported finding two unspent shells near the shattered front door as well as one near the rear exit through which his co-workers escaped. Police also found two boxes of loaded 12-gauge shotgun shells inside Tillery’s car parked outside the office, an affidavit said.

Defense attorney Matthew Soliday did not return a message seeking comment.

Tillery also faces a felony criminal recklessness charge. A judge set a July 19 trial date.