In the late hours of October 17, 2021, a burst of gunfire shattered the night in Hammond, Indiana, leaving two people dead. Christienne Cloutier, a 27-year-old male from Chicago, was one of the victims of this violent encounter. The incident unfolded around 11:40 p.m. near the intersection of Hohman Avenue and Gostlin Street, where police were dispatched following reports of shots being fired.
Witnesses at the scene described a heated argument between a Black male and a group of masked
Black males in a lot, which quickly escalated into a shootout. Cloutier and a female passenger, later identified as 30-year-old Krystol McDonald-Jones of Chicago, fled the scene in a Buick Rendezvous. The other individuals involved also fled in a separate vehicle. Shortly after the initial reports, another call came in about a vehicle that had crashed into a building at Gostlin and State Line Avenue. Officers arrived to find the Buick Rendezvous riddled with bullets.
Inside the vehicle, both Cloutier and McDonald-Jones were found with multiple gunshot wounds. McDonald-Jones was pronounced dead at the scene, while Cloutier was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Miraculously, a two-year-old child also in the car was unharmed and was taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services.
The investigation into the double homicide led Hammond police to seek public assistance in locating a stolen 2016 silver Dodge Charger with Illinois plates, which was believed to have been used by the assailants and was considered to be occupied by armed and dangerous individuals. Detectives determined the incident was isolated. Court documents later revealed that the shooting stemmed from an altercation at a Citgo gas station on Gostlin Street. Investigators discovered a Glock handgun on the driver's side floor of the SUV Cloutier was driving. The stolen Dodge Charger was traced back to a carjacking in Chicago that had occurred earlier the same night, and the suspects had used the carjacking victim's credit cards at various gas stations in Hammond.
In November 2022, a significant development was made in the case when Damon Calhoun, a 21-year-old from Chicago, was charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Christienne Cloutier and Krystol McDonald-Jones. At the time the charges were announced, Calhoun was awaiting extradition from Cook County Jail.
