A wild pursuit near the Westfield Southlake Mall in Hobart—in which one man fatally shot himself—began with a home invasion in Porter Township, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

PCSP Sgt. Larry LaFlower gave this account of events.

At 5:04 p.m. a 911 call was made by a 52-year-old woman, who reported that three men—at least one of them armed with a handgun—forced their way into her home in the 100 south block of C.R. 405W, pushed her, held her down, and searched the residence for cash and weapons.

They then fled the scene with an undetermined amount of money and an unspecified number of firearms, LaFlower told the Chesterton Tribune.

A neighbor of the woman, however—who identified himself to the 911 dispatcher as a Hammond firefighter—ran into the trio as they were driving away and followed them in his own vehicle, keeping the dispatcher apprised of their location, as headed west on U.S. Highway 30 and into Lake County.

The woman, meanwhile, was treated for minor injuries and released from hospital, LaFlower said.

The Associated Press was reporting that the car chase ended after the trio’s vehicle crashed near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Colorado Street in Hobart and that the suspects then fled on foot.

“Police say one man fired shots at a pursuing officer before killing himself,” the AP reported. “Two others were caught after fleeing through restaurants and shooting at a pickup truck driver following them, wounding him in the hand.”

Posted 8/9/2012