19 Year Old Shot In Griffith Tells Two Different Stories To Police
On May 28, 2020, at approximately 6:40 P.M., Griffith Police Officers were dispatched to an apartment unit located at 2029 N Arbogast, in Griffith, according to Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance. Officers were dispatched to the scene for a reported shooting, with a 19-year-old female having received at least one gunshot wound.
Upon the arrival of officers to the scene, the victim, later identified as Olivia L. Williams, a resident of Merrillville, IN, was located outside of the building, leaning against a vehicle, Mance stated. The victim appeared to have sustained wounds related to a shooting to her chest and left flank. In addition to the victim, several other parties were identified, both outside and inside of the apartment that the victim had previously been visiting, to include the victim’s boyfriend and several of his family members and associates.
Prior to transport for advanced medical care by ambulance and medevac, the victim provided a brief statement to officers in which she claimed to have been shot, by an unknown and indescribable assailant, as she left the apartment unit and entered into the building’s common hallway, Police said. However, despite the victim’s on-scene statement, officers and investigators located articles of evidence within the interior of the apartment, in which the victim had been previously visiting, that contradicted her on-scene statement of events. Furthermore, during a secondary interview with the victim, that took place at the Advocate Christ Medical Center, located in Oaklawn, IL, the victim contradicted her previous statement by reporting that she was shot inside of the apartment that she was visiting, while sitting on a couch, with her boyfriend, his family members and his associates, Mance said. In addition, the victim claimed to have no knowledge of who shot her, despite evidence that indicated that the gunshot had been fired from within the interior of the apartment that she was visiting.
The boyfriend of the victim as well as the other adult occupants of the apartment were extremely uncooperative throughout the investigation and were found to be deceptive in the limited statements they provided to officers and investigators, police told RNS.
The victim was treated and released from hospital care, prior to midnight the same evening.
The Griffith Police Department continues to investigate this incident and encourages anyone with information to contact Detective John Mowery at 219-924-7503, extension 256. Anonymous tips may be provided to police by calling 219-922-3085.
The Griffith Police Department was assisted in this incident by the Highland Police Department, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Superior Ambulance
