2 Shot In Morris: Police Identify Dead Man, 47, From Out Of Town

MORRIS — The Morris Police Department announced on Friday that the person who died from a gunshot wound on Thursday was 47-year-old Terry Barnett of downstate Marion. Barnett's death occurred inside a pickup truck parked at the Canalport Plaza near downtown Morris.

Police revealed that at 12:05 p.m. Thursday, the officers responded to the plaza near Illinois Avenue and Fulton Street after Barnett's mother called Morris police, expressing concern for her son. Barnett had told her via text messages that he was near the canal in Morris.

When the officers arrived, Barnett found dead in the truck, police said. However, a second family of his was also found, and that person was taken to the hospital with severe injuries, authorities revealed on Friday.

"Based on witness statements, the incident appears to have been contained within the truck and between the two (people). No one else was seen approaching or leaving the scene," the Morris Police news release explained. "The investigation is ongoing as Morris Police investigations determine and confirm what happened inside the vehicle."

On Thursday, Patch reported that two people were found shot Thursday afternoon in Morris after police received a call from a concerned relative in Southern Illinois, police said.

Just after noon, Grundy County Dispatch received a call from a relative who was worried about the well-being of a family member who was somewhere along the I&M Canal in Morris, according to police.

Shortly after that call came in, police also received a report of gunshots, prompting officers to respond to the Canalport Plaza area near Illinois Avenue and Fulton Avenue.

Officers found two people, both male, with gunshot wounds near the park. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, and the other was taken to Morris Hospital before being transferred to another area hospital.

Police found the weapon at the scene and confirmed no one else was involved in the shooting, which officials said was determined to be a domestic incident.