A northern Indiana man was killed and his girlfriend shot after trying to rob two Illinois men looking to buy a vehicle from a Craigslist ad, police said.
Brandon Johnson, 22, was shot several times about a block from his home in Gary, Indiana, after he pulled a gun on the would-be buyers and tried to rob them, officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Johnson’s girlfriend, a 21-year-old Gary woman, was shot in the thigh and fled to a hospital for treatment, Lt. Thomas Pawlak said. She was later released from the hospital and was arrested pending filing of formal charges, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
The would-be car buyers — a 55-year-old man from Olympia Fields and a 65-year-old from Chicago Heights — called police around 7 p.m. Sunday to report a shooting on Gary’s west side. They told officers that they made arrangements to make a purchase from Craigslist, when the man and woman they planned to meet with tried to rob them, according to Gary Police Lt. Thomas Pawlak, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
When Johnson pulled a gun, one of the buyers took out his own gun and fired at the couple, Lt. Pawlak said.
The Illinois men were not taken into custody and are cooperating with police, he said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.