Gunman acquitted of attempted murder in Walmart lot shooting

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A man who claimed he was acting in self-defense when he fired 16 shots outside a northwestern Indiana Walmart store has been acquitted of the most serious charges against him.

A Lake County jury convicted 27-year-old Alex Hughes of Gary on a criminal recklessness charge Friday for the September 2018 shooting in Hobart but found him not guilty of attempted murder and two other charges.

Authorities say Hughes shot toward a group of rival gang members who left the store shortly after Hughes and his girlfriend. One man was wounded four times while another man in that group shot toward Hughes, wounding a 9-year-old boy in the parking lot. Shots from Hughes shattered windows inside the store.

Hughes' sentencing is set for is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18.