An elderly man wielding a shotgun in the parking lot of Lake Station, Indiana City Hall was shot and killed by police Tuesday after firing his weapon at three officers, according to authorities.
Around 10:30 a.m., police said they were called to the Lake County municipal buildings at 1969 Central Ave. to respond to a report of an armed man in the parking lot adjacent to the city’s public library.
Three officers arrived to find John Laco, 84, of Portage, Indiana, sitting in a parked car with the barrel of a 16-gauge shotgun sticking out of the window, according to a release from the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force.
After being instructed to drop his weapon, police allege Laco stepped out of the vehicle, pointed his weapon at the officers and rifled off multiple shots, misfiring and breaking a library window instead.
Laco was struck and killed by police gunfire on the scene, said Robert Byrd, spokesman for the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force.
Fifteen people were in the Lake County Public Library at the time of the shooting, but none of them were injured.
Police said the gunman’s last run-in with law enforcement was in 2005 after allegedly harassing a private seller about the condition of a used car he purchased. Investigators reported Laco was also carrying a faulty pellet gun in the pocket of his sweatshirt at the time of the shooting.
