South Dakota man shot to death by Merrillville police at car dealership

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - A South Dakota man reportedly armed with a knife was shot to death by a police officer Wednesday morning at a car dealership in northwest Indiana.

Authorities were called about a person with a knife chasing an employee at 11:38 a.m. at Art Hill Ford, 901 W. Lincoln Highway in Merrillville, Indiana, according to Griffith Police Chief Gregory S. Mance, who serves as chairman and spokesman for the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force.

Officers from the Merrillville Police Department on their way to the dealership were told that the suspect had entered a Jeep, Mance said. The officers found the Jeep near the entrance to the dealership and stopped it.

“During the traffic stop the identified armed suspect was shot and a knife was recovered at the scene,” Mance said in a statement.

The suspect was taken to Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville, where he was pronounced dead at 12:12 p.m., authorities said.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified him as 30-year-old Jimmy Terry of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.

The Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the shooting “with numerous witnesses and leads that are actively being pursued,” Mance said.