An after-prom party in Porter County, Indiana, ended in tragedy after a shooting left a teenager dead.
One teen was killed in the shooting at around 11:01 p.m. in the 1700 block of Liberty Avenue in Pine Township, roughly five miles west of Michigan City. Sheriff’s deputies said shots were fired at a home, and a total of three people were injured.
An 18-year-old woman and a juvenile victim also sustained injuries, officials said.
A chaotic scene unfolded in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a witness told NBC Chicago.
“All hell broke loose,” neighbor Mike Schnell said. “People running everywhere both directions.”
Schnell lives across the street from where Michigan City High School students were attending an after-party. In the hours following the shooting, he pitched in to help clean the neighborhood up.
Among those rattled by the shooting was a resident whose home was struck by a bullet.
“This is the hole, that the bullet went into, and then it exited out in here and then I don’t know if you can see this, then it went in here,” neighbor Kimberly Horn described.
Horn was in another room when a bullet from across the street flew through her door.
“So that was kind of scary,” she said “…Yeah I really appreciate that the Lord looked after me last night.”
Dalancia Blash said her son and niece were at the party when the shooting happened. Both are physically okay.
“These kids need to want to live is what they need to want to do,” she said. “And somebody lost their life for what? For what?”
She hopes it will be a wake-up call for the community.
“Where are the parents?” Blash said. “That’s my frustration. Where are the parents?”
Michigan City Area Schools said it will make grief counselors available to students.
“Our thoughts are with the students, families, and everyone impacted during this difficult time,” the district said. “Counseling and support resources will be available to our students and staff.”
Anyone with information was asked to call the Porter County Sheriff’s Office.
