Gary police handle this year’s first homicides Sunday, Monday

Gary police are investigating the city’s first and second homicides of 2023 in the wake of a Monday shooting near the Hudson Campbell Sports and Fitness Center and the Sunday discovery of a decomposing body in residence in the Black Oak section of the city.
Gary Police Commander Jack Hamady said Monday police were investigating the death of an individual whose body was discovered Sunday. The body was in a state of decomposition and the cause of death was initially unclear. The Lake County Coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide by strangulation late Monday afternoon, Hamady said. Details of the investigation were not immediately available, though the victim was a 24-year-old Gary man.
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The city reported 63 homicides in 2022, Hamady said
Monday’s shooting was an isolated incident. There were other people around at the time who were not targeted. The victim was a 24-year-old Gary man, he continued.
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“The shooter targeted just him,” he said.
Officers were dispatched to the scene at around 12:30 p.m. to a call of shots fired, according to a release from Lt. Dawn Westerfield, public information officer for the police department. Upon arrival police discovered the victim, who was later declared deceased by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Hamady said the victim had parked his car on Massachusetts Street and was removing a gym bag from the trunk of his vehicle when the shooter came up and fired several rounds at him. He said a motive for the shooting is unclear. The victim has no known gang connections.
The Hudson Campbell center is on the east side of Massachusetts Street across from city hall. Deputy Mayor Trent McCain said he did not order an official lockdown at city hall, though the officers on scene at the time may briefly have done so out of an abundance of caution.
McCain said the shooting happened very near the Hudson Campbell Fitness Center on Massachusetts Streets a few feet north of 5th Avenue and did not occur on city property or in the parking lot of the fitness center. The victims’ vehicle was parked on the east side of Massachusetts, just a few feet from the southeast corner with 5th Avenue.
He said there was no danger to those inside city hall.
“When it’s the new year, the first homicide hits a little differently,” McCain said.
McCain said officials are confident the technology available to the police department will help lead to a swift apprehension of the shooting suspect.
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The Gary Metro Homicide Unit is investigating the crimes. Anyone with information may call 219-755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.
cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com