The Portage man suspected of shooting up a Department of Workforce Development (DWD) office on Friday has been identified and formally charged.

On Monday, Edgar C. Tillery, 60, of 400 Camelot, was charged with attempted murder, a Class A felony punishable by a term of 20 to 50 years; and criminal recklessness, a Class C felony punishable by a term of two to eight years.

Tillery was taken into custody Friday afternoon after police said that he fired two rounds from a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun at the DWD office at 6224 Central Ave. According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Dennis Meyers of the Portage PD, Tillery was “attempting to re-load the shotgun on officers’ arrival and admitted that the weapon had “malfunctioned.”

“That’s why you couldn’t get another shot off?” a detective at the scene asked Tillery, Meyers stated. “I couldn’t because it malfunctioned,” Tillery replied.

In a subsequent interview, Tillery stated, “I’m harmless, I’ve already done what I’ve done, and I don’t give a (expletive) what they do to me,” Meyers quoted him as saying. “I’m not apologizing for what the hell I did. I want an attorney. Read my rights or whatever you do. I’m glad this happened. I just go to Michigan City the rest of my life.”

“It’s a good thing I did it,” Meyers further quoted Tillery as saying. “I feel good. I won’t apologize for a (expletive) thing. . . . I’m not crazy. I don’t care. I’d rather go to prison.”

Tillery’s supervisor gave investigators this account of the events preceding the shooting, Meyers stated: that afternoon she had given Tillery an employment review; “Tillery did not receive a favorable review”; the supervisor told him that “she had public and co-worker complaints that had been substantiated about him,” that he “needed to change,” and that “a 90-day work improvement plan” had been implemented.”

Tillery told his supervisor in response that “he would not change the way that he does things,” to which his supervisor said that “maybe Tillery should consider resigning because improvement is required,” Meyers stated.

“I have an answer to that in my car,” the supervised quoted Tillery as then saying.

Tillery left the supervisor’s office, “muttering obscenities as he went out the door,” at which point a co-worker said “He’s going for a gun,” Meyers stated.

That co-worker—who reported having a “bad feeling”—followed Tillery to the front door and then locked it behind him after he’d exited, Meyers stated.

The co-worker and Tillery’s supervisor ordered the rest of the staff to the rear of the office, where they shortly heard “a bang” from the front of the building, Meyers stated.

“Turn around and face me,” Tillery yelled to his supervisor as she and the staff fled through the rear door, Meyers stated.

Investigators later recovered two boxes of loaded 12-gauge shotgun shells from Tillery’s vehicle, Meyers stated.