1 killed in shooting involving northern Indiana officers

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Two northern Indiana police officers who ran toward the sound of gunfire early Sunday fired shots at a car inside which one man was killed and another person wounded, authorities said.

After the car crashed, officers found another wounded person in the same block of the Elkhart neighborhood, while a fourth person arrived a short time later at an Elkhart hospital with gunshot injuries, Police Chief Ed Windbigler said.

The officers had responded to a reported house burglary about 3:30 a.m. when they heard shots nearby and ran to the scene less than a block away, Windbigler said.

The officers weren't hurt and the wounded people didn't have life-threatening injuries, he said. Police said investigators weren't immediately sure whether those inside the car were wounded by the officers, and it wasn't clear who shot the other two people.

"The only people who could have been struck by officer fire are the ones who were in the vehicle," Windbigler said.

Norman Gary, 29, of Elkhart, died at the scene from gunshot wounds, and an autopsy was planned for Monday, according to the police department. Two men and a woman - ages 21 to 24 - were hit by the gunfire, but Elkhart police spokesman Sgt. Chris Snyder said investigators weren't releasing details Sunday of who was in the car with Gary.

The two Elkhart officers have been placed on administrative leave, Snyder said. The names of the officers weren't immediately released.

Indiana State Police detectives were taking over the investigation.

State police spokesman Sgt. Trent Smith said investigators were trying to sort out the circumstances of the shootings.

"There were a lot of things that happened other than just the police officers shooting their guns," Smith said. "At this point we don't know exactly who shot who."