Suspect killed, police officer injured in shooting during undercover social media robbery in Gary

GARY, Ind. — A man was killed and an officer was wounded in a shooting during an undercover sting operation targeting a man responsible for a series of armed robberies at a fake social media marketplace in Gary, Indiana, on Wednesday.

Gary police held a news conference Wednesday to announce the arrest of a suspect, identified by officers as a 21-year-old Gary resident, who allegedly posted fake for-sale ads on social media and ripped off shoppers.

At the end of October, the authorities were able to narrow down the circle of the suspect, who was wanted in connection with a series of robberies, and later managed to negotiate with the suspect about the purchase.

The operation ended shortly before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday when an undercover officer confronted the suspect posing as a buyer on a social media marketplace.

During the encounter, police said the suspect allegedly attempted to rob an undercover officer and attacked him with a “machete weapon.”

Other members of the task force stepped in to help the undercover officer, but authorities said the suspect allegedly continued his violent behavior and one of the officers opened fire, hitting and wounding the suspect.

After the shooting, the suspect was taken into custody and taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to officials with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

The medical examiner identified the man as 21-year-old Shahaud Richmond.

The undercover officer involved in the operation, a 32-year veteran of the force, suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident.

The injured officer remains in hospital in stable condition.

It is unclear whether the suspect acted alone in all of the incidents, and police have vowed to find anyone else who may have been involved.

“At this time, we are going to investigate anyone who was involved in these cases and plan to prosecute them with our Lake County District Attorney’s Office,” Cannon said.

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During the press conference, Cannon asked the public to be aware of their surroundings.

“We ask the public to remain vigilant about issues like this and to continue to call us when we have issues that are happening in our community,” Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon said during a news conference Wednesday.

Cannon also warned Gary residents about similar types of crimes going into the holiday season.

“It’s the holiday season and during the holidays unfortunately we have incidents like this. We want to make sure the public knows that we are diligent and diligent in investigating these crimes and bringing people to justice for these types of crimes,” Cannon said.

Richmond’s sister, Charmaine Johnson, said she believes he was not targeted by police.

“He was a good kid, a good person with a bright future,” Johnson said.

According to family members, Richmond was a young father who was expecting another child this month.

“My brother doesn’t carry a machete,” Johnson said. “Tonight my brother was a victim. He’s not the guy they were after.”

Gary police said the investigation into the robberies is ongoing.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Detective Bureau is also investigating the shooting.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday in Richmond.

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