East Chicago Man Shot To Death In Bed; Girlfriend Wounded
EAST CHICAGO, Ind.(STMW) -- A shooting inside an East Chicago, Ind., home that left one man dead and his eight-month pregnant girlfriend hospitalized Saturday morning may have been gang-related, the Post-Tribune is reporting.
East Chicago Police Chief Mark Becker said the murder victim, Rolando Munoz Cuevas III, 23, may have been targeted because he was trying to distance himself from a gang.
Becker said police responded to a call of shots fired at 6:47 a.m. Saturday in the 3500 block of Grand Boulevard. Upon arriving they discovered Cuevas dead. He had been shot multiple times. His 20-year-old girlfriend also was shot. The woman was transported to the hospital and she and her unborn baby were in stable condition, he said.
Shortly before the shooting two pit bulls in the house were acting strangely but were not barking, investigators learned.
"The owner of the home heard a noise and looked at the bedroom where the two were sleeping and saw a man leaning into the window, his arm extended with a handgun, firing shots at Cuevas," Becker said.
The homeowner, an older resident and several children in the home at the time of the attack were not injured.
Becker said police are trying to track Cuevas' whereabouts the evening before the shooting to determine who he may have met with or talked to. He worked until 11 p.m. at a pizza restaurant in Griffith and was picked up from work by his girlfriend.
The shooter is described as a large stocky male, possibly Hispanic. Becker said police are working on a better description of the suspect.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the East Chicago Police Department at (219) 398-2677 (COPS) or the anonymous tip line at (219) 391-8500.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
