it was a HOAX???!?!!
News of a possible sniper attack near Cline Avenue at the Hammond/Gary border sent police on a manhunt Tuesday morning.
Darwin Burkhart, 47, of Hammond, told Lake County police that as he drove to work on 169th Avenue just before 7 a.m., a man wearing a trench coat stepped out from a grassy area, pulled out a long gun from under the coat and shot his Toyota 4-Runner as it crossed Cline Avenue.
Burkhart, who was not hurt, kept driving and called 911.
Officers who responded to Burkhart's report could not find the suspect or a vehicle. Helicopter surveillance produced nothing. A Hammond police crime scene technician examined the area, but found nothing, officials said.
Burkhart was on his way to work at Reed Minerals, a Harsco Co., at 7100 W. Ninth Ave., Gary.
Although Lake County police Detective Pat Tracy contacted the Indiana State Police to compare information regarding the Cline Avenue incident with the Interstate 65 sniper attacks in southern Indiana on Sunday, state police said no evidence points to the shootings being related. A 17-year-old suspect in Sunday's shootings was arrested Tuesday.
Lake County Criminal Investigator David Crane said the Toyota's window was struck by the bullet from the "long-type rifle" as the truck slowed.
"It was a good thing, too. The bullet would have hit the passenger side of the window, and he would have been struck," Crane said.
Tracy said the suspect ran down the grassy knoll on the side of the overpass of Cline on Ind. 912.
Burkhart's son, Bryan, 14, said his father, who goes by Dar, called home about the shooting and told the family he was OK.
"He was pretty shocked about it," Bryan said of his father’s reaction. "He was just going to work like a regular day."
Burkhart would not comment to the media that swarmed Reed Minerals on Tuesday afternoon, nor would he speak to reporters at his home Tuesday evening. He said he had spoken to one television station and had nothing else to say.
Although the Lake County Sheriff's Department is investigating, Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell said during a news conference in Indianapolis on Tuesday that state troopers think the report might be a hoax.
"At this point, we're working under the assumption that it was a false report," Whitesell said. "We have found no evidence, to my knowledge, of any casings and the report was that a man with a trench coat -- with (it being) 88 degrees (outside) -- jumps out of a truck and fired, and we have found no evidence to support that claim."
Tracy said Burkhart provided police with a lot of details.
"There is nothing to give us any indication that it didn't happen," Tracy said.
Hammond Councilman Homero "Chico" Hinojosa said he has proposed installing surveillance cameras since last year, and he has targeted eight sites around Hessville, including Cline and 169th Street.
"We get a lot of theft, and the suspects use Cline Avenue as an exit," he said.
Hinojosa said officials are waiting for an update on the engineering and are looking for installation in the fall.
"Chief (Brian) Miller is taking the matter seriously and is controlling the exits around Cline on to (Interstate) 80/94," he said.
Times staff writers Carolyn Thompson-Baker, Joe Carlson, Patrick Guinane, Ruthann Robinson and Brian Williams contributed to this report.
Darwin Burkhart, 47, of Hammond, told Lake County police that as he drove to work on 169th Avenue just before 7 a.m., a man wearing a trench coat stepped out from a grassy area, pulled out a long gun from under the coat and shot his Toyota 4-Runner as it crossed Cline Avenue.
Burkhart, who was not hurt, kept driving and called 911.
Officers who responded to Burkhart's report could not find the suspect or a vehicle. Helicopter surveillance produced nothing. A Hammond police crime scene technician examined the area, but found nothing, officials said.
Burkhart was on his way to work at Reed Minerals, a Harsco Co., at 7100 W. Ninth Ave., Gary.
Although Lake County police Detective Pat Tracy contacted the Indiana State Police to compare information regarding the Cline Avenue incident with the Interstate 65 sniper attacks in southern Indiana on Sunday, state police said no evidence points to the shootings being related. A 17-year-old suspect in Sunday's shootings was arrested Tuesday.
Lake County Criminal Investigator David Crane said the Toyota's window was struck by the bullet from the "long-type rifle" as the truck slowed.
"It was a good thing, too. The bullet would have hit the passenger side of the window, and he would have been struck," Crane said.
Tracy said the suspect ran down the grassy knoll on the side of the overpass of Cline on Ind. 912.
Burkhart's son, Bryan, 14, said his father, who goes by Dar, called home about the shooting and told the family he was OK.
"He was pretty shocked about it," Bryan said of his father’s reaction. "He was just going to work like a regular day."
Burkhart would not comment to the media that swarmed Reed Minerals on Tuesday afternoon, nor would he speak to reporters at his home Tuesday evening. He said he had spoken to one television station and had nothing else to say.
Although the Lake County Sheriff's Department is investigating, Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell said during a news conference in Indianapolis on Tuesday that state troopers think the report might be a hoax.
"At this point, we're working under the assumption that it was a false report," Whitesell said. "We have found no evidence, to my knowledge, of any casings and the report was that a man with a trench coat -- with (it being) 88 degrees (outside) -- jumps out of a truck and fired, and we have found no evidence to support that claim."
Tracy said Burkhart provided police with a lot of details.
"There is nothing to give us any indication that it didn't happen," Tracy said.
Hammond Councilman Homero "Chico" Hinojosa said he has proposed installing surveillance cameras since last year, and he has targeted eight sites around Hessville, including Cline and 169th Street.
"We get a lot of theft, and the suspects use Cline Avenue as an exit," he said.
Hinojosa said officials are waiting for an update on the engineering and are looking for installation in the fall.
"Chief (Brian) Miller is taking the matter seriously and is controlling the exits around Cline on to (Interstate) 80/94," he said.
Times staff writers Carolyn Thompson-Baker, Joe Carlson, Patrick Guinane, Ruthann Robinson and Brian Williams contributed to this report.