A 46-year-old man was in critical condition Monday after he was shot several times by hospital security Saturday in the parking lot of Franciscan Health in Michigan City, Ind., according to the South Bend Tribune.
Indiana State Police are investigating the case to avoid a conflict of interest since the shooting officer and the other security guard on the scene were off-duty Michigan City police officers.
According to preliminary findings from the Michigan City police, the security officers were called to the hospital parking lot by a family member of the victim, Thomas Walsh III. The family member was concerned about Mr. Walsh because he was refusing to get out of his vehicle to seek medical help.
Mr. Walsh was sitting on the passenger side of a Ford F-150 pick-up when the uniformed officers approached him, according to the report. Police said Mr. Walsh withdrew a handgun at one point during their interaction and pointed it at the officer standing by the driver's side door. The officer on the passenger side withdrew his own weapon and shot Mr. Walsh several times, police said, according to the report.
Mr. Walsh was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Ind. His brother, Shannon Walsh, posted on Facebook that Mr. Walsh's condition was slightly better but that he was still "bad off," having been shot four times in the stomach and twice in the arm. He wrote that his brother was on life support and heavily sedated to keep him stable, according to the report.
A friend of Mr. Walsh, Layla Lawson, said he had been struggling with depression. Ms. Lawson also said Mr. Walsh's family believes he was trying to hand the gun over to the officer before he was shot.
The investigation into whether the shooting was justified could take several weeks, according to ISP Sgt. Ann Wojas.
Note: Becker's has reached out to Franciscan Health Michigan City for a comment and will update this article accordingly. We are also awaiting a status update on Mr. Walsh's current condition.