NW Indiana police seeking man charged in double murder

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) - Police are asking for the public's help tracking down a northwest Indiana man charged in a recent double-slaying.

Gary Shanklin Jr., 19, of East Chicago faces two felony murder counts in the fatal shootings of Nalisha Martin, 43, of Hammond, and Christopher Burks, 52, of Chicago.

East Chicago Police Deputy Chief Jose Rivera said in requesting the public's assistance that anyone who comes into contact with Shanklin should call 911 immediately because he is 'Å“considered armed and dangerous," The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

Officers who were called Oct. 13 to East Chicago's south side about a vehicle striking a home found that a Chevrolet Impala had struck a front porch, and the driver, later identified as Martin, was found unconscious. She was later pronounced dead at a Chicago-area hospital.

Burks was found across the street lying in a pool of blood. He was also pronounced dead later at a hospital, police said.

Shanklin was found shot along the same street and taken to a Chicago-area hospital in serious but stable condition. Police said he was conscious, but uncooperative.

Shanklin, who was formally charged with two counts of murder on Oct. 18, remained at large on Tuesday afternoon.