Man, 49, shot and killed in Gary

A 49-year-old man was shot to death Sunday in northwest Indiana.

A Gary police officer was conducting a traffic stop at 1:05 a.m. in the 500 block of Ohio Street when he saw a vehicle approaching at a high speed with its horn honking, according to a statement from Gary police.

The vehicle pulled up and the driver asked for help, telling the officer he had a gunshot victim in his vehicle, police said.

Ervin Pirtle was found in the back seat with multiple gunshot wounds, according to police and the Lake County coroner’s office. Pirtle, who lived in Gary, was dead at the scene and his death was ruled a homicide.

Investigators learned he had been shot by another passenger in the vehicle, police said.

The suspect, a 22-year-old man, had gotten out before the driver approached the officer for help but was taken into custody a few blocks away, according to police. He is being held at the Gary Police Department.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Gregory Fayson with the Lake/Gary Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3852.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.