GARY — A 37-year-old woman avoided being struck by return gunfire at a gas station early Thursday after she fought off and fired a gun at a man who tried to pull her out of her vehicle, police said.
Gary police spoke with the woman in Merrillville after she drove there from the scene of the shooting, said Lt. Dawn Westerfield.
Police responded beforehand about 4:40 a.m. to a gas station at West 47th Avenue and Broadway for a report of a shooting and robbery.
Officers were notified on their way there that the woman was with police in Merrillville. A Gary officer met with her there to take a report.
The woman told the officer she went to make some purchases at the gas station earlier when men sitting in two cars parked nearby began catcalling her.
She was driving out of the gas station parking lot when a black man with dreadlocks ran up to her car, yanked open the driver side door and tried to pull her out of the vehicle, Westerfield said.
The man then tried to choke the woman, so she pulled out a gun and fired at him, causing him to stumble backward.
It wasn't clear whether the man was struck by gunfire, Westerfield said.
As the woman continued driving off, someone fired shots at her car.
The woman told police she drove to Merrillville because she was afraid.
Gary police have not received reports of anyone being struck by gunfire after shots were fired at the gas station, Westerfield said.
Anyone with more information is urged to contact Gary Police Detective Sgt. William Fazekas at 219-881-1210. To remain anonymous, call 866-CRIME-GP.
