# Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Michael Hrnciar SUICIDE Date: September 5, 2014 Total Killed: 2 (including shooter) Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 1 Circumstances: On September 5, 2014, concealed handgun permit holder Michael Hrnciar, 33, shot and killed Merrillville Police Officer Nickolaus Schultz, 24, before turning the handgun on himself. Hrnciar was reportedly evicted from his condominium in July 2014 following a foreclosure. In August 2014, the condo s property management said they had to change damaged locks at Hrnciar s unit after discovering they had been tampered with and the unit entered. On September 5, 2014, police were called when Hrnciar s vehicle was seen parked outside his former home and the previously closed windows of the condo were now open. Police unsuccessfully attempted to get Hrnciar to answer the door before they forced their way into the condo. With no electrical power in the unit, the two officers searched the unit by flashlight. Hrnciar, wearing police-style body armor, ambushed the officers, firing two shots from his.45 handgun. One of the rounds struck Officer Schultz, with the other hitting a wall. Hrnciar then fired a third shot, which drew return gunfire from the second officer. The Lake County Coroner s Office later determined that Hrnciar died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was not struck by police gunfire. According to police, Hrnciar moved from Illinois to Indiana in 2006 so that he could legally carry a handgun. Hrnciar had a valid Indiana Handgun Permit issued in 2006, the same year he bought the handgun used in the shooting. Hrnciar also had a fascination with commercial-grade fireworks and evidence indicated that he was illegally manufacturing explosives. He also possessed a half-gallon jar of high-grade processed marijuana and a non-functioning marijuana growing operation. Source: Police Release Timeline in Merrillville Officer s Shooting Death, abc7chicago.com, September 12, 2014.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Albert Rogers PENDING Date: June 5, 2014 Circumstances: On June 5, 2014, concealed handgun permit holder Albert Rogers, 26, allegedly shot and killed Joshua Tucker, 31, following a dispute over a dog. According to police the dispute was over Tucker s dog aggressively approaching Rogers girlfriend. According Tucker s girlfriend, Jessica Frink, Rogers came to Tucker s house and challenged him to a fist fight. When Tucker went outside, Rogers allegedly started firing, hitting Tucker multiple times. Tucker was pronounced dead at the scene. Rogers claimed he was acting in self-defense and that Tucker was also armed with a handgun. According to Frink, while Tucker did have a handgun in his pocket he never pulled it out before being shot. Rogers has been charged with murder. Source: Man arrested in slaying over dog, The Indianapolis Star, June 13, 2014; Shooter released after dog dispute ends in fatality, The Indianapolis Star, June 6, 2014; Victim of fatal Edgecombe Avenue shooting identified, TheIndyChannel.com, June 5, 2014.
# Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Jayveon Daniels CONVICTED Date: August 26, 2013 Circumstances: On August 26, 2013, concealed handgun permit holder Jayveon Daniels, 21, and Duane Snelling, 22 met with La Kice Brooks, 17 inside a car to sell him marijuana. Brook was carrying his mother s pink handgun and Daniels was also armed. According to Snelling s attorney, Brooks allegedly tried to rob Daniels and Snelling in retaliation for a previous robbery. During the sale, there was a struggle for Brooks gun. According to a plea agreement, Snelling shot Brooks with Daniels gun. Daniels and Snelling drove off, leaving Brooks in the parking lot. Brooks died on the way to the hospital. Daniels pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, and on January 13, 2015 he was sentenced to two years in jail followed by two years in community corrections and two years on probation. Source: Cousins sentenced in Highland teen s homicide, nwitimes.com, January 14, 2015.
# Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Jay Byler UNINTENTIONAL Date: February 25, 2011 Circumstances: On February 25, 2011, concealed handgun permit holder Jay Byler accidently shot and killed his seven-year-old daughter Karlee when his Norinco pistol fell out of his coat pocket and fired. The shooting occurred at the family s home after Jay Byler had been playing outside in the snow with Karlee, her 10-year-old sister Brooklyn, and his wife. According to a statement released by the family s church, Jay was helping the girls with their boots when the gun fell out of his pocket and discharged. Karlee was killed. The statement described the first grader as an ornery angel and stated that like her dad she loved to clown around. A family friend stated, She was just infectious. Karlee was just a delight and a joy. People talk about her with words like smiles and hugs. Karlee was a hugger. Later analysis found that the gun had a functional defect and no charges were filed in the shooting. Source: Prosecutor: Gun that killed Goshen girl had functional defect, southbendtribune.com, March 16, 2011; Friends remember ornery angel killed in accidental shooting, Newscenter16, February 27, 2011.
# Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Lucas Holland CONVICTED Date: March 25, 2010 Circumstances: On March 25, 2010, concealed handgun permit holder Lucas Holland, 28, shot and killed David Moore, 52. Holland was allegedly stealing Moore s all-terrain vehicle (ATV) when Moore returned home and confronted him. Holland claimed that he was repossessing the ATV and that he feared Moore was going to harm him when he shot Moore in the back of the head with a.40 Taurus pistol. Holland obtained a concealed handgun permit in July 2009. Holland was arrested and charged with murder when he was found driving a truck with the stolen ATV in the back. In the wake of Moore s death, local law enforcement agencies reported an increase in the number of people seeking permits to carry a concealed weapon. UPDATE: On July 1, 2011, Lucas Holland was sentenced to 85 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of David Moore. Holland told the court, I took the life of a good man for absolutely no reason...the remorse I feel is real and will go on forever. Source: Brown county man to serve 85 years for murder, The Republic, July 1, 2011; Man accused of Unionville shooting death had handgun permit, Bloomington Herald-Times, March 31, 2010; Suspect arrested in murder of Monroe County man, fox59.com, March 26, 2010; Deceased man s property found in local man s truck, Brown County Democrat, March 26, 2010.
# Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: William J. Calderon Convicted Date: August 22, 2009 Circumstances: On August 22, 2009, concealed handgun permit holder William J. Calderon, 22, supplied the handgun used in a prank that resulted in the shooting death of Landon Siela, 21. According to court testimony, Calderon, Siela, and Calderon s roommate Cory S. Lynch, 23, spent the day drinking and playing with a neighbor s Airsoft gun (which uses a burst of air to fire non-lethal plastic pellets). At Calderon s instigation, he and Lynch decided to play a prank on Siela by using actual firearms including a.45 Kimber pistol that Calderon kept loaded for protection and a second handgun that Siela had brought with him. The two pointed their guns Calderon with Siela s handgun and Lynch with Calderon s loaded pistol at Siela. Lynch, who according to Calderon didn t know that much about firearms, pulled the trigger on the Kimber pistol, the bullet striking Siela in the throat, killing him. Calderon pled guilty to pointing a firearm, a misdemeanor, but the judge rejected the plea partly on the grounds that the plea agreement was too lenient. Calderon is also charged with false informing, a misdemeanor. Calderon s concealed carry permit was revoked following the shooting. UPDATE: In June 2010 Calderon pleaded guilty to pointing a firearm, a Class A misdemeanor, in the death of Siela. He was sentenced to 120 days on community corrections followed by 245 days on supervised probation. Source: Second plea in shooting accepted, jconline.com, June 12, 2010; Ex-Purdue student wants new judge for role in shooting case, jconline.com, March 22, 2010; Judge just doesn t buy story in WL shooting, jconline.com, March 10, 2010.