Press Release, Michigan City Police Department:
The LaPorte County Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 call on July 9th at 07:13 PM regarding an adult male discharging a firearm towards two adult females in the 1200 block of Elston Street. The suspect then drove away from the scene prior to officers arriving. There were no reported injuries in the 1200 block of Elston Street as it pertains to the initial call for service. An officer from Uniform Patrol Shift 2 later located the suspect vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The male driver of this vehicle stopped at the intersection of Broadway Street and Fairfield Avenue.
The officer exited their vehicle and noticed the driver pointing a firearm at them. The officer drew their firearm at which time the driver fled the traffic stop in their vehicle. The officer did not discharge their firearm and initiated a vehicle pursuit where the driver ran off the road and crashed into a garage in the 2500 block of South Roeske Avenue.
The officer located the suspect driver slumped over and removed him from the vehicle to render first aid. The suspect was transported to Franciscan Health Hospital in Michigan City and later transferred to University of Chicago Hospital in Chicago, Illinois with life threatening injuries. Inside the vehicle, officers located a loaded firearm which was determined to be stolen.
Chief Corley contacted the Indiana State Police immediately after the crash occurred and requested their District 13 Investigative Division conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the vehicle pursuit and crash. Detectives from the Michigan City Police Department’s Investigative Division responded to the 1200
block of Elston Street to investigate the original shots fired complaint. Questions regarding the vehicle pursuit and crash can be directed to Indiana State Police Public Information Officer, Sergeant Fifield at (219) 696-6242 or by email at gfifield@isp.in.gov.
The Michigan City Police Department is urging anyone who may have any additional information, video surveillance, Ring video footage or cell phone recordings regarding the incident in the 1200 block of Elston
Street to contact lead investigator Corporal Kay Pliske at (219) 874-3221; extension 1086 or via email at kpliske@emichigancity.com. Other first responders who assisted with this investigation include the Trail Creek Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, Indiana State Police, LaPorte County EMS and Michigan City Fire Department. The suspect’s identity is currently being withheld due to this active investigation and potential criminal charges being filed.