MICHIGAN CITY — Officials say a LaPorte County sheriff’s deputy is in critical condition after being shot three times in a shooting at Franciscan Health Michigan City hospital on Friday, May 22.
Deputy Jon Samuelson, 33, has been transported to Memorial Hospital South Bend, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield and LaPorte County Sheriff Ron Heeg, who held a news conference after the situation was resolved.
Police arrested a suspect in the shooting, 22-year-old Chicago resident Sharod Grafton, police said at the news conference. The officials said there is no ongoing danger to the public or hospital staff, and the Indiana State Police have taken the lead on the investigation.
Because the investigation is still in its early stages, Heeg said, officials are limited in the details they can share now, but updates will be forthcoming as the investigation continues.
According to Fifield, at around 6:45 a.m. Central Time on Friday, Samuelson was on his way to a training session when he stopped to help what he thought was a disabled vehicle on Indiana 2 and 900 West in LaPorte County.
Fifield said Samuelson transported Grafton, the vehicle’s sole occupant, to Franciscan Health at Grafton’s request — although, officials said, it’s unclear at this time why, as they’re not aware of any injuries Grafton sustained.
After taking Grafton to the hospital, officials said, the deputy exited the building but reentered a few minutes later after learning that Grafton may have been involved in an “earlier criminal incident.” Police said they are currently unsure what that incident entailed, but they do know it did not take place at the hospital.
When Samuelson reentered the hospital, Fifield said, an “altercation” between Samuelson and Grafton took place in the emergency room, presumably after Samuelson tried to take him into custody or speak to him. Officials said this resulted in Grafton producing a firearm and shooting Samuelson three times.
Grafton then ran away from the hospital and into a wooded area west of the hospital, officials said.
A call to the dispatch center just after 7 a.m. Central Time included the fact that an officer was down, having been shot. Officials said Samuelson is married and has been with the sheriff’s office for 12 years.
Officials said Samuelson also comes from a long lineage of law enforcement; his grandfather was the chief of the police for the City of LaPorte, they said, and his father was a police officer for the City of Michigan City who now works in the security unit at Franciscan Health. He was in the hospital at the time of the shooting, police said.
Heeg and Fifield said responding officers quickly found Grafton in the wooded area and took him into custody without any further incidents. They also found a handgun that had been in Grafton’s possession, they said.
Grafton has been transported to the LaPorte County Jail, and he’ll be taken to the Porter County Jail, where he’ll be held. He was not injured in the shooting or since he’s been taken into custody, officials said, nor did he sustain any injuries before being taken to the hospital by Samuelson.
Officials said they’re currently unsure how Grafton was able to bring a gun into the emergency room, but that’s a question that should be answered in the investigation. They were also unable to comment at this time on whether Samuelson fired back, as that is not currently known.
Fifield said the incident makes him feel “angry.”
“This is a senseless shooting that didn’t have to take place,” he said. “Our officers and deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department and all over the state of Indiana and Illinois risk their lives every day. This officer thought he was helping a stranded motorist, and it turned into this.”
Tribune correspondent Stan Maddux contributed to this report.
Email South Bend Tribune staff reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Deputy gave man accused of shooting him ride to ER before incident
Reporting by Rayleigh Deaton, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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