A man was found dead Friday evening after police said he fired at an Indiana State Police trooper in rural LaPorte County, leading to a search that lasted several hours.
The incident began around 3:15 p.m. on County Road 125 East, south of County Road 900 North. Police said a concerned resident had flagged down a trooper after reporting a man and woman who had approached a family member and appeared to be acting suspiciously.
The trooper located the pair and began speaking with them. While the trooper was sitting in his patrol vehicle, he asked the man for identification. Police said the man then pulled a firearm from his waistband.
The trooper immediately accelerated away as the man fired several shots. Two bullets struck the patrol vehicle, but the trooper was not injured.
The man and woman then ran into a nearby wooded area. The woman eventually emerged and surrendered to officers, while the man remained missing, prompting a multi-agency search of the surrounding area.
Indiana State Police SWAT officers later searched a nearby residence. At about 7:40 p.m., officers found the man in the basement with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A handgun was also found near him, according to police.
The man’s identity had not been publicly confirmed at the time of the initial police update.
A 20-year-old woman from Elkhart, identified as Erica D. Bowman, was taken into custody and transported to the LaPorte County Jail. Charges against her were pending review by prosecutors.
Police said there was no longer a threat to the public following the discovery of the man.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to establish the full circumstances surrounding the shooting and the events that led to the man’s death.
