PORTAGE, INDIANA — At 12:55 p.m. Tuesday, officer received a dispatch of a person shot at 1204 Camelot Manor and that the shooter had left on foot to the east.
Officers flooded the area, secured the scene, and had medics treat/transport the shooting victim (John D. Tyler, age 32 of Hammond) to the hospital.
Officers of the Portage Police Department, Hobart PD and Porter County Sheriff’s Department established a large perimeter and began checking multiple areas, to include a track with a Portage K9.
Officer Trent Howard spotted the suspect in a vehicle (belonging to Steve Conger of Portage, Uber/Lyft driver) and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect Issa Amer Ishtawi (age 20) was removed from the back seat, taken to ground and placed in handcuffs.
The backpack he was wearing was removed from him and checked for the weapon. A large zip bag containing marijuana was found inside. A search of Conger’s vehicle yielded the recovery a Glock .40 handgun with extended under the passenger seat.
Conger advised the gun did not belong to him and did not know how it got there. Mr. Conger was very cooperative and shook up by the entire incident.
The gun was loaded and statements made by Ishtawi on scene led us to believe the handgun belonged to him. Tests on the handgun will be conducted.
Ishtawi refused to answer questions and seemed to have little regard for the events that had occurred.
Police say Ishtawi forced his way into 1204 Camelot (occupied by residents-James Burton, age 44 and Jackie Bernhardt, age 72) and fired at least one round inside the residence.
Ishtawi took Burton outside and indiscriminately fired three round into the mobile home, one of which struck John D. Tyler in the left foot (who was only there visiting).
One of the rounds fired, passed through 1204 Camelot and into and through 1206 Camelot (which was occupied by an elderly female) and then into 1208 (not occupied at the time).
Initial charges for Issa Ishtawi include, but are not limited to…
-Aggravated Battery w/ Handgun-Level 3 Felony
-Battery-Level 5 Felony
-Intimidation-Level 5 Felony
-Criminal Recklessness w/a Handgun-Level 5 Felony
-Pistol No Permit
-Poss of Marijuana.
