An East Chicago man became Hammond’s sixth homicide of the year Thursday when he was shot to death on a North Hammond sidewalk.
Hammond Police Public Information Officer Lt. Richard Hoyda said in a news release the shooting happened around 8:25 a.m. The victim, Jasper Valliant, 30, of the 3400 block of Pennsylvania Street in East Chicago, was pronounced dead at 9:50 a.m., according to the Lake County Coroner’s office.
There are no suspects at this time, Hoyda said in the release.
Hammond Police officers remained at the scene Thursday afternoon in the 4200 block of Dearborn Avenue collecting evidence, while neighbors were stunned that gun violence came to their quiet neighborhood. One woman, who asked that her name not be used, was taking her son to school around 8:15 a.m. when she heard the gunshots.
“We live by Vernette Machine, so I’m used to hearing banging noises. I was in disbelief that they were shots,” she said. “I walked back and saw the body laying out there on the ground and the police all around.
“Who wakes up in the morning and thinks, ‘I’m going to kill someone?'”
Another neighbor who lives within a few houses of the scene said he heard five shots. When he went outside he said he also saw the body on the sidewalk.
He then said he saw a woman go up to Valliant’s body and remove a bag he had on him. The man, who also asked his name not be used, said the woman took the bag into the house, then came back outside, emptied Valliant’s pockets, then got in a car and drove off. He said he told police investigators what he saw.
Hoyda would neither confirm nor deny the man’s comments about a woman at the scene.
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One of the bullets sheared the side of another vehicle and landed by the man’s truck in his driveway, the male neighbor said.
“(The people living in the house) just moved there like a month ago. Not sure if he brought his problems here or what,” the man said. “My mom goes to work in the morning, but she was off today, thank God.”
Both neighbors said they were concerned because there’s a school bus stop in the area.
“There are about 50 kids who use that bus stop every day around that time,” the man said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Hammond homicides in 2015
Thursday’s shooting death in North Hammond marks the sixth homicide for the city this year, according to Hammond Police Lt. Richard Hoyda. They are:
*Jan. 1: Donnovan Williams, 19, of Highland, at a party in the 1200 block of Wilson Avenue.
*June 6: Shannon Morrison, 38, of St. Paul, Minn.; at a hotel at 141st Street and Calumet.
*June 18: Wayne Rushing, 20, of Hammond, 1200 block of 170th Street.
*June 28: Robert Viella, 23, of Hammond, 5500 block of Beall Avenue.
*June 29: Lauren Calvillo, 16, of Hammond, 5500 block of Beall Avenue.
*Dec. 10: Jasper Valliant, 30, of East Chicago, 4200 block of Dearborn Avenue.
Anyone with information on Thursday’s shooting is asked to call Hammond Detective Steve Guernsey at 219-852-2978.