(La Porte County, IN) - An Indiana State Police trooper was shot multiple times Friday near Michigan City by a man later found dead from gunshots during a manhunt.
The shooting happened about 7 a.m. outside a Speedway station on U.S. 421 just south of Interstate 94.
ISP Sgt. Glen Fifield said the suspect was chased on Interstate 94 from somewhere in Berrien County, Michigan after he failed to pull over for driving a pick-up truck reported stolen. The trooper joined the chase after it crossed into Indiana.
Several minutes later, Fifield said the chase veered onto U.S. 421 where soon there was a collision between the trooper and suspect. Fifield said numerous shots rang out, including some by the officer returning fire.
The officer was rushed to nearby Franciscan Health hospital and later airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend where he was listed in stable condition prior to surgery.
“I can report he is in good spirits at the moment,” he said.
Fifield said whether the suspect and officer were out of their vehicles during the gunfire exchange was still under investigation.
More than 20 yellow evidence markers were placed mostly in the Speedway parking lot close to the highway. Police said many of those markers represented the spot where empty shell casings were found.
Following the gunfire exchange, Fifield said more than 100 officers were involved in a manhunt for the suspect whose pick-up truck was located along a tree line with help from a police helicopter near Westville in the area of Joliet Road and Wozniak Road. Fifield said more shots rang out during the search before the suspect was found deceased a few hours later in a cornfield in that same area.
The manhunt included the use of drones with cameras along with K-9 dogs.
“All of the resources were being used during the search for him,” he said.
Fifield said who fired the shots suffered by the suspect will be left up to the La Porte County Coroner’s Office to decide after reviewing evidence from the autopsy and police investigation.
The suspected stolen vehicle was discovered by a police officer in the New Buffalo area who tried stopping the driver, who fled a short distance into Indiana on some side roads before winding up on Interstate 94, said Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit.
Heit said the suspect early in the pursuit fired a shot from what was described as a rifle he stuck out the window of the vehicle before leaving Michigan. He said officers from Michigan discontinued the pursuit once law enforcement from multiple agencies in Indiana took over.
“We were involved for a short period at the beginning then stayed available just in case it came back,” he said.
Fifield said the name of the wounded officer will be released at some point but wasn’t right away out of respect for him and his family. The name of the suspect and where he is from was also not immediately disclosed.
