Fort Wayne police officers found 27-year-old Jacob Gordon Klotz suffering from gunshot wounds in the parking lot of Physicians Urgent Care, an urgent care clinic located immediately next to Showgirl III at 930 E. Coliseum Blvd., early on August 8. He would not survive. Now 28-year-old Austin Rinker has been formally booked into the Allen County Jail on a murder charge, accused of shooting Klotz after a physical fight spilled into the parking lot outside the club.
According to court documents cited by WOWO, Rinker approached a woman in the parking lot after her shift, and the two got into an argument. Klotz followed Rinker to his car and stepped in to defend the woman, according to court documents referenced in reporting from WANE 15. That confrontation turned into a fistfight between the two men before gunfire erupted, per court documents.
Police witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing Klotz fall to the ground. Court documents state Rinker then shot Klotz up to five more times after he was already down. The Allen County Coroner later ruled Klotz's death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds, officially identifying him by his full name, Jacob Gordon Klotz.
Nearly Simultaneous Hospital Arrivals
Fort Wayne police were dispatched to the club at 3:36 a.m., around the same time Rinker arrived at a local hospital driving his own vehicle while suffering from a critical gunshot wound, per the same account. Rinker left the scene in his car after the shooting and was treated at an area hospital for his injury. It remains unclear from available court records how Rinker's wound occurred amid the struggle.
Police questioned Rinker about the injury, and he told them the situation got messy, before asking to speak with his mother and a lawyer, according to court documents. He now faces a murder charge and is being held without bond at the Allen County Jail.
A Week-Old Ban and a Rocky Relationship
Rinker was previously banned from Showgirl III, according to court documents. Per the same account, Rinker's girlfriend — described as on-again, off-again — told investigators the couple had been in a rocky two-year relationship during which Rinker stalked her at work, which led to the club officially barring him on August 1, exactly one week before the fatal confrontation.
Court records reported by 180Justice show that three years before the shooting, a judge granted a two-year protective order against Rinker after finding that domestic violence occurred in a separate incident, in which a different woman accused him of physical assault and strangulation.
Crime Scene and Air Units Deployed
The Fort Wayne Police Department deployed its Crime Scene Unit and Air Support Unit to gather physical evidence and conduct aerial documentation outside Showgirl III following the shooting, according to the City of Fort Wayne. That level of forensic response underscores how central ballistics and physical evidence are likely to be as the case moves forward.
Remembering Jacob Klotz
Klotz was born in Fort Wayne in October 1998, attended Garrett High School, and worked locally in construction, contracting, food service, and security, according to his obituary published by Divine Mercy Funeral Home. Friends launched a GoFundMe titled “In Memory of Jacob Klotz” and organized a community fundraiser in a parking lot, raising thousands of dollars for funeral expenses and to support his family, as reported by 21Alive. Much of that outpouring has centered on the fact that Klotz intervened to protect a woman before he was killed.
What Comes Next Legally
Under Indiana Code § 35-42-1-1 and § 35-50-2-3, the state treats murder as a single offense without degrees, carrying a prison term of 45 to 65 years, an advisory sentence of 55 years, and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Abels Law Office. Indiana does not divide murder into first- and second-degree classifications the way some states do.
Indiana law under IC § 35-41-3-2 also establishes that people have no duty to retreat when using force in self-defense, but that legal immunity does not extend to someone who was the initial aggressor or who provoked a confrontation, unless they withdrew from it, per Justia Law. Because court documents describe a fistfight preceding the gunshots, questions about who escalated the confrontation, and whether Rinker's own gunshot wound was self-inflicted or sustained during the struggle, are expected to weigh heavily on how prosecutors and defense attorneys approach the case.
