East Chicago son fatally shoots father to protect mother, police say

An altercation inside an East Chicago apartment on Saturday night led to a son fatally shooting his father to protect his mother, police said.

The shooting happened in the 1800 block of East 140th Street around 7 p.m., according to East Chicago police.

Self-defense shooting

What we know:

Officers responded to the scene to find a man lying on his back in a pool of blood on the living room floor. He was unresponsive and appeared to have been shot several times in the chest area.

Officers performed CPR until medics arrived. The man was taken to St. Catherine Hospital where he died.

Investigators learned the fatal shooting may have been self-defense. Witnesses told police the victim was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with his wife when he reached for a weapon.

The witnesses said the son then shot his father to protect his mother.

The Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force is investigating the shooting.

What we don't know:

Police did not release the names of the victim and the person of interest "to give the family some privacy while they deal with this tragedy."

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