INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Aug. 11, 2014)– He’s accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend, turning his gun towards police and then shooting himself.
Now, his family is opening up about 22-year-old Josh Higgins as he recovers from his self-inflicted gun-shot wound.
“We’ve taken different routes, but at the same time that’s still my little brother and I love him to death,” said Brandon Higgins, Josh’s brother.
As Brandon Higgins gets ready to go off to graduate school, he’s left wondering and waiting if his younger brother Josh will survive.
“I broke down in tears. I was like my little brother could not do this. This can’t be Josh,” said Higgins.
However, police say it was Josh Higgins who shot and killed his girlfriend, Candice Hunter. The couple had a 6-month-old together. Hunter also leaves behind a 23-month-old. Higgins’ mother, Sandra Cornett, said the couple seemed happy.
“We just don’t know at this point what brought it on or what happened to lead him to take such drastic measures,” said Cornett.
Police were called to a domestic dispute in the Hoover Park Condominiums in the 6400 block of Park Central Way, just after 1 a.m. Sunday. They encountered a man arguing with Hunter in the hallway, just at the entrance of the building.
As police approached, Higgins shot Hunter in the head and then ran to the back of the apartment complex.
Moments later officers heard a gunshot and a 911 call came through reporting a man lying in the grass behind an apartment building. It was the suspect. Police discovered the man with a gunshot wound to the head, apparently self-inflicted, and a graze wound to the shoulder.
“People do make mistakes. It’s a terrible thing that happened but at the same time he’s a very loving man, hardworking and respectable,” said Higgins
The brothers were adopted at a young age and Cornett says Josh was trying to make a life for himself despite serving four years for an armed robbery. Also, Higgins has four active warrants for his arrest.
“He found himself a job, he started going back to school, he found himself a girlfriend Candice,” said Cornett.
Hunter’s family drove in from Chicago Sunday morning when they got word of Candice’s death.
“As far as I know everything was just perfect. She met the guy and they started dating, and as far as I know he was a stand up guy,” said Leha Williams, Hunter’s father.
“We are very upset about Candice. She was a great friend of the family. We loved her and we took her in as one of our own,” said Higgins.
