911 caller claims fatal Hamilton shooting was self-defense

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Police officers investigating a report of gunfire early Tuesday morning in Hamilton found a person dead.

Police responded to 829 Maple Ave., Apt. 1, in reference to a shots fired call at about 4:45 a.m., Hamilton police Sgt. Brian Robinson told the Journal-News. Inside the apartment, a man later identified as 36-year-old Timothy James Dugan was found dead from a gunshot wound, according to Robinson.

The Butler County Coroner’s Office has ruled Dugan’s death a homicide.

A 911 call was placed by a man claiming to have shot Dugan in self-defense over money, according to recordings obtained by the Journal-News.

In the 911 call, a man who identified himself as Robert Bishop tells the dispatcher, “A guy I know, I owed him money, he came in and he went ballistic, beat me up. He pulled a gun on me, we fought over it and I had to shoot.”

When the dispatcher asked the caller if he shot the man, later identified as Dugan, the caller replies, “yes ma’am.”

The caller also tells the dispatcher that he was still holding the gun and was afraid to go back in the apartment. The caller also asked the dispatcher what to do with the gun, according to the 911 audio.

An investigation is ongoing and police are reviewing the 911 call and other evidence collected at the scene, according to Robinson.

No charges had been filed as of Tuesday evening, and police declined to say whether Bishop was the shooter.

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