Police officer shoots and kills gunman holding 1-year-old boy hostage, officials say

By Todd Feurer, Tara Molina

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    GARY, Indiana (WBBM) — A police officer in Gary, Indiana, shot and killed a man who was pointing a gun at officers while holding a 1-year-old baby hostage early Wednesday.

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies and Gary police officers responded to a hostage situation around 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 2200 block of Carolina Street, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

A 38-year-old man inside the apartment was holding two people hostage, a 35-year-old male relative, and a 1-year-old boy.

Sosa and his cousin Myles, who live next door to the home, and did not share their last names, recorded video of the police response to the hostage situation.

“I never seen a SWAT van like that,” Sosa said.

At some point during the hostage situation, the 38-year-old man shot the 35-year-old man, who was able to flee from the apartment, and refused medical attention at the scene.

The suspect refused to leave the apartment, and fired several shots at police before the Lake County Sheriff’s Department used an armored vehicle to get Gary and Lake County SWAT teams closer to the apartment, and use a ramming tool to break open the back door. The sheriff’s drone unit provided live aerial coverage of the standoff.

After removing the back door, the Gary SWAT team fired tear gas into the apartment, but the suspect still wouldn’t come out, firing several more shots at police.

Around 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, the suspect walked out of the back doorway, holding the 1-year-old boy, and headed toward his nearby vehicle, while pointing his gun at police.

That’s when a Gary police officer shot the suspect, who was later pronounced dead. His name has not been released.

Lake County Sheriff’s officials said the 1-year-old was not harmed.

Police did not elaborate on the relationship between the gunman and the 35-year-old man he shot, nor whether the 1-year-old is related to either man.

“You barely catch him leaving his house,” Myles said.

Sosa said the incident has him considering moving away from Gary.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department was investigating.

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