St. John officer on leave after fatally shooting 40-year-old man

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting in which a St. John Police officer shot and killed a man at his home.

Brandon Perkins, 40 of the 14000 block of W. 93rd Avenue, was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon, according to a Lake County Coroner’s office release Thursday. Perkins died from a gunshot wound; a toxicology report is pending, according to the release.

St. John Police responded to Perkins’ home around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a domestic disturbance, according to a Facebook post from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

“At some point, a physical altercation occurred and shots were fired,” the Sheriff’s Department stated.

Perkins was transported to the Franciscan Health Dyer emergency room where he died from his injuries at 12:10 p.m., according to the coroner’s release.

St. John Police Department spokesman Roger Patz said in an email Thursday the department “is not commenting on yesterday’s critical incident other than to say that we have one officer on administrative leave pending the investigation.”

“As is our policy and practice, we called in an outside agency to handle the investigation. All questions should be directed to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department,” Patz wrote.

The shooting is the second police-involved shooting in Lake County in four days. A Gary Police officer shot and killed a man Saturday during a domestic dispute.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.