MUNSTER — A retired Lake County Sheriff’s Department officer was shot and killed early Tuesday morning while working security at a Munster hospital.
At about 1 a.m., 59-year-old Ryan Askew responded to a report of a psychiatric patient assaulting a nurse at Community Hospital in Munster.
During the struggle, it’s believed the male patient grabbed a gun from one of the officers’ gun belts, according to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. Askew was shot in the arm and later died.
The 22-year-old patient was also fatally wounded in the incident.
The circumstances behind the incident are still under investigation by the Munster Police Department.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked to lose a retired officer in such a horrific incident,” said Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. “He was a dedicated professional.”
Askew was a 20-year veteran of the department and retired in 2004. Askew leaves behind a wife, daughter and two foster children.
A 65-year-old security officer was also wounded in the incident. He has been hospitalized in stable condition.
