dpLA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) — An Indiana State Police trooper was wounded in a shooting Friday morning in northwest Indiana and a suspect has been found dead, police said.
A Speedway gas station later reopened after the shooting and the scene was cleared after a chaotic morning in northwest Indiana.
The entire incident stretching across state lines beginning in Michigan and ended with the suspect found dead in a rural area of La Porte County, Indiana.
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Indiana State Police said at a press conference that there was a report of a stolen vehicle traveling from Berrien County, Michigan.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office told ABC57 News in South Bend, Indiana that around 5:30 a.m. Friday, a suspect allegedly took a car for a test drive from a dealership in Michigan City and never came back. He then allegedly brought the car to Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan to steal a license plate.
There was then a pursuit on I-94, and the suspect in a silver Ford F150 stopped at a Speedway gas station, 2884 U.S. Highway 421, near Michigan City, police said.
There was a collision between the suspect and a state trooper, and the suspect shot and wounded the trooper multiple times, police said. The trooper also returned fire at the suspect.
An Indiana state trooper was wounded in a shooting in Michigan City Friday morning.
Indiana State Police said the trooper was taken to Franciscan Health and transferred to a hospital in South Bend, where he was in stable condition.
Chopper 7 flew above the scene of a Speedway gas station where evidence markers surrounded an Indiana State Police SUV.
A witness, Robert Pahs, said he was driving near the scene as the shooting unfolded.
“I heard this crinkling sound at first I wasn’t sure but those were gunshots, and by the time I pulled into the Speedway, the officer must have rear ended into the suspect,” Pahs said.
The suspect then managed to get away again, driving through county roads and cornfields. Their vehicle was then located about five miles south in a wooded area near Westville in La Porte County, police said.
Police say that is where the suspect continued to hide, and additional gunshots were fired in that area. He was found dead shortly after from apparent gunshot wounds, officials said.
“To my knowledge, the tactical teams that were down there located him in the field,” Indiana State Police Sergeant Glen Fifield said. “But we were using aviation drones, canines, all those resources were being used during the search for him.”
As many as 100 officers and SWAT units were searching for the suspect and were seen leaving at around 11 a.m. Friday.
Police investigate at a Michigan City, Indiana gas station.
All of this adds to what has been a difficult time for police in northwest Indiana, marking the third time an officer has been shot in the line of duty since May 22.
“The Polk County Sheriff’s deputy was shot a half mile from here at the hospital. Then we had our trooper shot by 94 over in Lake County, and now here today,” Sgt. Fifield said. “So, yeah, so we’re hurting… as a profession.”
Meanwhile, there was a court hearing for the man charged with shooting a La Porte County Sheriff’s Deputy in May.
The court was informed that suspect Sharod Grafton has hired a defense attorney.
Prosecutors say Grafton shot and wounded LaPorte County Deputy Jonathon Samuelson at a hospital in Michigan City on May 22.
Samuelson started rehab in Chicago last month. Grafton’s case is back in court in August.
Just days after Samuelson was shot, an Indiana State Police trooper was shot in Hammond on May 26.
Police say the trooper called for backup after a making a traffic stop on I-80/94. When the other officers arrived, the driver pulled out a gun and there was a shootout.
The trooper was hit in the chest. His bullet proof vest helped to save him. The driver was killed, officials said.
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