HollyMatkinHighland, IN – Two off-duty police officers were shot outside of a Highland bar early Saturday morning, after they got into an altercation with two men who attempted to re-enter the establishment at closing time.
The incident occurred just after 2 a.m., when two men who left Growlers Bar earlier in the night showed back up, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
Off-duty Gary Police Officer Dwayne Brown, who was working as a bouncer for the bar, told the men that the bar was closing, and that they could no longer come inside.
The men began arguing with Officer Brown, at which point off-duty East Chicago Police Officer David Aguilera, who was at the bar as a patron, stepped up and intervened.
When Officer Aguilera identified himself as a police officer, one of the men shot him in the head.
Officer Brown was shot in the forearm.
Police received a report of the disturbance at 2:39 a.m., and arrived to find Officer Aguilera bleeding from the brain, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
He was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, but his condition was not available as of Saturday morning.
Officer Brown was transported to another local hospital, where he was treated and released.
Investigators found the two assailants walking approximately a block away from the bar just minutes after they arrived in the area.
The men were taken into custody, and were being questioned at the Highland Police Department.
According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, a source said charges are pending against a man named O’Neill Cruze-Burgos.