12/19/2009

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

BELOIT -- A rural Beloit man was shot in his home early Friday morning and died later in the day.

Law enforcement in Beloit and Mitchell County and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case as a homicide, Beloit Police Chief Ryan Stocker said Friday.

The Beloit Call newspaper reported Friday that a family member confirmed that the deceased was Gary Nelson, a longtime area resident. However, that couldn't be confirmed through official sources.

Nelson died in a Wichita hospital, the Call reported.

Mitchell County Attorney Mark Noah said late Friday the victim's next of kin had been notified and that he expected to be able to release the victim's name today.

All he would confirm Friday was that the victim lives in a rural area but he is not a farmer.

He said officers had been at the scene of the shooting, about five miles west of Beloit, for 12 hours or more. Noah said Friday that the officers expected to be at the scene through the night processing evidence.

He said he understood that there were a total of four other people in the house at the time of the shooting, including members of the victim's family.

Noah said he was called to the law enforcement center at 6:30 Friday morning to help officers obtain a search warrant and learned there had been a shooting. Friday night he was unaware if officers had made any arrests in the case.

"I haven't heard from any law enforcement officers about what's going on since then. I haven't had an opportunity to have a sit-down visit," Noah said. "At some point (Saturday), I'm going to be given the information," Noah said. "From what I understand, they expect me to do a press release."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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