In the early morning hours of September 17, 2019, the life of 17-year-old Dante Figueroa was tragically cut short in a residence on Lindberg Avenue in Hammond, Indiana. Emergency responders, arriving around 12:30 a.m., discovered the young man in a bedroom with a single, fatal gunshot wound to his head. Despite being rushed to Methodist Northlake Hospital, he was pronounced dead at 1:32 a.m., his death later officially ruled a homicide by the Lake County Coroner's Office.
The
investigation into the male victim's death revealed a gathering of several young people at the house that night. What began as a get-together among friends took a devastating turn. Inside the bedroom, amidst a group of other teenagers, what was described as horseplay with a firearm led to the fatal incident. Investigators learned that the suspect and Figueroa were acquainted, a detail that painted a grim picture of the night's events.
The individual identified and later arrested in connection with the shooting was 18-year-old James Edwin Lasenby of Gary, Indiana. He was subsequently charged with reckless homicide. According to court documents and Lasenby's own account, the shooting was an accident. He claimed that Figueroa had pointed a 9mm Taurus handgun at him in a playful, mock stick-up. Believing the weapon to be unloaded, Lasenby stated he swung the gun around, mimicking actions he had seen online, at which point the gun discharged, striking Figueroa.
The chaotic aftermath saw the teenagers present fleeing the scene in various directions. Lasenby was apprehended later and faced legal proceedings for his role in the death of his friend. The incident served as a stark and tragic reminder of the dangers of mishandling firearms, leaving a community to mourn the senseless loss of a young life.
