In the pre-dawn hours of October 7, 2021, the sound of rapid gunfire shattered the quiet of a Hammond, Indiana neighborhood. Concerned residents who peered outside witnessed a grim scene unfolding in the 700 block of Locust Street. The violent episode left two men dead, one of whom was 27-year-old Diandre Easter of Calumet City.
Responding to calls of shots fired around 3:35 a.m., Hammond police officers arrived to find a chilling tableau.
Easter was discovered slumped in the passenger seat of a vehicle, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Not far away, in the yard of a nearby home, lay the second victim, Daniel Gomez, 26, of East Chicago. Gomez had been shot multiple times in his chest and abdomen. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene by the Lake County Coroner's office.
In the immediate aftermath of the discovery, investigators with the Hammond Police Department began piecing together the events that led to the double homicide. While details of a potential motive or suspects were not immediately released, police officials did state that they believed the shooting was an isolated incident, suggesting that there was no broader threat to the community. The investigation was handed over to Detective Sergeant Shawn Ford, and authorities appealed to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest. Despite the initial plea for witnesses to come forward, there have been no subsequent announcements regarding any arrests, charges, or suspects in the deaths of Diandre Easter and Daniel Gomez. The case officially remains an open and unsolved homicide, leaving a shroud of mystery over the violent end to the two young men's lives.
