A man was found dead with a gun nearby in a cornfield outside of Westville Friday morning, hours after he was suspected of shooting an Indiana State Police trooper during a confrontation in the parking lot of a Speedway gas station on U.S. 421 south of Michigan City.

The discovery of the dead man at 11:15 a.m. in a cornfield in the area of Wozniak and Joliet roads ended a search that involved scores of law enforcement officers. Police identified him as Kevin W. Meyers, 54, of LaPorte. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the LaPorte County Coroner. An autopsy is scheduled for 7 a.m. Saturday.

The LaPorte County Coroner’s office will rule on the nature of Meyers’ death, said Sgt. Glen Fifield of the Indiana State Police.

Police identified the injured trooper as Sgt. Justin Heflin, a 12‑year veteran of the Indiana State Police who also served in the United States Marine Corps. Heflin sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Heflin was shot several times during an exchange of gunfire with Meyers at the entrance of the Speedway, located just south of Interstate 94, at 7:30 a.m, police said. Fifield said he doesn’t know if the suspect was wounded during that exchange.

Fifield said Heflin suffered multiple wounds but is in stable condition and “in good spirits” at South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he underwent successful surgery. He is surrounded by his family, police said.

Initially, Heflin was taken to the nearby Franciscan Health Michigan City and then was transported with a police escort, which ironically passed by the shooting scene around 9:45 a.m. on the way to the Indiana Toll Road to South Bend.

When a silver Ford F-150 reportedly driven by Meyers was found abandoned in a wooded area near Wozniak and Joliet roads outside of Westville, scores of officers descended on the scene.

Fifield said that it is believed that Meyers fired shots at officers in the woods. No officers are reported injured.

People were advised to stay indoors because the man was considered armed and dangerous.

During a news conference, Fifield gave the following account of what happened:

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan started the pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle, identified as a silver Ford F-150, at 5:30 a.m. Friday.

The pursuit crossed the state line and proceeded on back roads and through some cornfields of LaPorte County. The suspect managed to elude the pursuing officers.

Almost two hours after it all started, the Indiana State Police trooper spotted the silver Ford F-150 on I-94 and followed the vehicle after it exited the interstate southbound on U.S. 421, Fifield said.

Heflin’s cruiser collided with the Ford F-150 as it pulled into the Speedway. The trooper’s cruiser struck it from behind.

After that, Meyers opened fire on Heflin, who fired back, according to Fifield.

There were at least 28 yellow evidence markers, marking the shells from the shooting, at the gas station. Most of the markers were clustered around the trooper’s driver’s-side door.

Meyers fled in the pickup truck, which was spotted at 9:16 a.m. by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department aviation unit, abandoned in a tree line in the area of Wozniak and Joliet roads outside of Westville, Fifield said.

It is the second time within two months that an officer has been shot in LaPorte County.

LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Samuelson was shot three times on May 22 in the emergency room of Franciscan Health Michigan City. Sharod Grafton, 22, of Chicago, was captured in the woods next to the hospital and faces several felony charges. Samuelson is recovering at a rehabilitation facility in Chicago.

State Rep. Randy Novak, D-Michigan City, in a news release, commended the first responders and medical personnel for their efforts.

“I am grateful for the first responders and medical personnel caring for the state trooper injured today, and for every officer who continues to serve LaPorte County despite these dangers,” Novak said. “To them I say: We see you, we are grateful for you and we will not accept violence against you as normal. Two shootings in two months is two too many. This has to stop.”

Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/10/michigan-city-trooper-shot/