PORTAGE — Three people were shot early Saturday morning during a fight and shootout outside a bar in Portage.
Portage Police Department officers and emergency personnel were called around 2:15 a.m. to the Sunset of Portage, on the city's south side, on the report of shots fired, according to a Facebook post from PPD. When they arrived, officers saw several cars leaving the bar and about 80 people fighting in the parking lot.
Officers later found out three people were shot during a shootout in the parking lot, according to the post. A man from Gary was shot in the abdomen, a man from Kentucky was shot in the left arm and a man from East Chicago was shot in the left hand. All of the victims were taken to a local hospital.
While most people have been uncooperative, investigators believe a fight inside the bar around 1:45 a.m. eventually led to the shooting, according to the post. A man, from Gary, was injured during the fight inside the bar when tables were flipped and chairs were thrown. An employee of the bar then told the more than 100 people inside the bar they needed to leave.
The exact cause of the fight inside the bar is unknown, but investigators think it have been over rival neighborhoods outside of Portage, according to the post.
Officers located about 30 spent shell casings from various weapons, according to the post.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
"I want to assure our community that we will not tolerate this kind of incident and we will utilize all possible resources, actions and remedies to make that [an arrest] happen," PPD Chief Troy William said in the post
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 219-762-3122.
