I’ll be curious to know if the motive for this staged shooting is ever discovered.
Indiana Conservation Officers don’t believe a Bloomington man’s story that he was shot by an unknown person while visiting McCormick’s Creek State Park on June 25.
Instead, Conservation Officers say evidence suggests Peter Raventos, 43, shot himself in a staged incident designed to portray him as the victim of a random shooting. …
On June 25, Conservation Officers and other agencies responded to a 911 call at 10:05 p.m. reporting that a man had been shot at McCormick’s Creek. The call was made by Raventos, who told Conservation Officers he was shot in the back by an unknown assailant while walking along a park trail.
Conservation Officers, McCormick’s Creek staff, the Owen County Sheriff’s Department, Spencer Police, and Indiana State Police conducted a thorough search of the park and nearby area for a possible suspect but found none.
Raventos, meanwhile, was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was treated for wounds inflicted by more than 20 shotgun pellets and later released.
From witness interviews and evidence found at the scene and at Raventos’ home, Conservation Officers have since concluded that Raventos rigged a shotgun so he could fire it at himself from some distance.
Witness statements led Conservation Officers to an area of the park where the shooting was believed to have occurred. There they found bungee cords, fishing line, a spent shotgun shell, an unspent shotgun shell, and a small piece of plywood embedded with shotgun pellets.
Conservation Officer K-9 units searching the area also found a shotgun wad-a small plastic cup inside a shotgun shell casing that separates the pellets from the gunpowder. When fired, the wad is expelled and falls to the ground.
Conservation Officer scuba divers searched the nearby White River and located a 20-gauge shotgun that was later linked to Raventos.
Search warrants for Raventos’ home, cell phone, and vehicle turned up additional evidence.
I’m very curious about the evidence from the cell phone. That seems like an odd place to find anything relevant unless it reveals some kind of premeditation that could disclose the potential motive.
I just can’t fathom why anyone would shoot themselves in an effort to make a park look bad.
“I just can’t fathom why anyone would shoot themselves in an effort to make a park look bad.”
Does he have a history of anti-gun activism? Perhaps he’s trying to make the case for banning guns in parks?
I googled him with keywords from that side of the issue and didn’t find anything. I also saw some Indiana gun owners talking about it when I did another search right after this post, but they didn’t indicate that he was involved in anti-gun activities there.
I could totally see some of the usual anti-gun trolls trying to pull something like this off.
Apparently he’s an attorney…
http://abovethelaw.com/2012/07/lawyer-of-the-day-midwestern-attorney-allegedly-sets-trap-on-himself/
I’d see if Tam or Bobby have ever heard of him
Sounds like a variant on the psych disorder called Munchausen syndrome: getting sympathy from faked illnesses or injuries.
Cell phone might record GPS position and show where he was in relation to events.
“I was just on a quick 30 minute hike.”
“Well sir, your cell phone shows you as having been in the area for 2 hours preceding the shooting. What were you doing for 2 hours during your 30 minute hike?”
What NUGUN said. They probably have a track of him walking around in circles for a few hours in the area he got shot.
He lived in Bloomington and practiced primarily in Owen County. He associated with some other colorful members of the Monroe and Owen County bar.
This was the buzz in the Marion County (Indianapolis) courts today. No one could imagine why this would happen.
Maybe he was planning on suing the State and Park-system to make a quick buck in between gigs?
Not in Indiana was he going to sue the State. Better to sue the Devil for making him do it, stronger case.
Goofball aborted suicide attempt??
It is a mystery! –But I’m never surprised at strange things done by residents of Bloomington. Let’s just say they offer a lot of authentically hemp-scented air.