On the evening of March 14, 2020, a young Black/African American man named Perry Booker Jr. was driving in East Chicago, Indiana, an event that tragically ended in his untimely death. The 20-year-old was behind the wheel of a silver Nissan Altima when he was fatally shot in the back of the neck. The shooting caused him to lose control of the vehicle, which then crashed into several parked cars in the 3800 block of Elm Street.
Police were alerted to the incident at approximately 8:30 p.m.
by a ShotSpotter notification, which detected multiple gunshots in the vicinity. Upon their arrival, they discovered the tragic scene and found Booker Jr. inside the crashed vehicle. Emergency services transported him to St. Catherine Hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
There were four other people in the car with Booker at the time of the shooting. Two of these passengers suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash and received treatment at the hospital. According to witness statements, the vehicle carrying Booker and his friends had been followed by another car after they left a party. They had attempted to get away from the pursuing vehicle but were unsuccessful.
Despite the ongoing investigation by the East Chicago Police Department, no information regarding any suspects or arrests has been released to the public. Authorities have encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and have provided an anonymous tip line for this purpose. The case remains unsolved, leaving a community searching for answers and a family grieving the loss of a young life.
