In the pre-dawn hours of July 31, 2025, the sound of gunfire shattered the quiet near the Village Shopping Center in Gary, Indiana. When the incident was over, 36-year-old Deon Stewart, an African American male from Chicago, and another man, 37-year-old Dante Givens, were found shot to death inside an SUV in the shopping center's parking lot.
Gary police officers in the vicinity of 35th Avenue and Grant Street heard the gunshots around 3:45 a.m.
and were flagged down by bystanders standing next to a blue Honda CR-V. Inside the vehicle, they discovered Stewart in the front passenger seat and Givens in the driver's seat, both having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The Lake County Coroner's Office was called to the scene and pronounced both men dead, with Stewart's official time of death recorded as 4:41 a.m. Their deaths were subsequently ruled as homicides. Investigators believe the shooting occurred near the intersection of 37th Avenue and Grant Street, after which the vehicle moved to the shopping center parking lot.
The investigation into the double homicide was led by the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit. Through the use of video surveillance from nearby businesses, license plate readers, social media evidence, and witness statements, investigators were able to piece together the events leading up to the fatal shooting. Two passengers who were in the back seat of the victims' vehicle told investigators that their car had stopped for a traffic light at 37th Avenue and Grant Street when another vehicle pulled up alongside them. When their vehicle began to move forward, shots were fired from the adjacent car.
This evidence led authorities to identify 35-year-old Alex Dominque Russell of Gary as the suspect. On August 5, 2025, the Lake County Prosecutor's Homicide Task Force secured two counts of murder charges against Russell. With the assistance of U.S. Marshals and the Indiana State Police, Russell was apprehended in Gary on August 29, 2025, under the authority of an arrest and search warrant. In addition to the two murder counts, Russell faces charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, unlawful carrying of a handgun, and driving while suspended, along with a felony firearm enhancement. If convicted, he could face a sentence of over 150 years in prison.
