A Gary man who police believe was behind several robberies in the city is dead after a Gary police officer on Wednesday shot him during an altercation in which he pulled a machete on another officer.

Gary police Chief Derrick Cannon said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that officers around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday were conducting an undercover operation in the 3400 block of Maryland St., where an officer would attempt to purchase an item the man was selling through a social media marketplace. The department had received reports of a man who would meet with potential buyers of an item but then would attack them with a machete and steal their money, Cannon said.

By late last month, officers narrowed down the suspect and set up the operation for Monday, Cannon said. The two met, and the man — Shahaud Richmond, 21, of the 3400 block of Delaware St., according to the Lake County coroner’s office — attacked the officer with a machete, at which point a second officer with one of the response teams fired at Richmond, he said.

Richmond was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake campus in Gary, where he later died, Cannon said. The officer he attacked, meanwhile, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is in stable condition at a local hospital, he added.

The officer, whom Cannon said is a 32-year veteran with the department, will be put on administrative leave while the Lake County Sheriff’s Department investigates the shooting.

The Gary Fire Department and Lake County CSI assisted.Police have advised parties completing online purchases in-person to meet in a safe and secure location, such as the lobby of a local police department, so if anything goes wrong, police can respond quickly.

In June 2019, 16-year-old Johnny Peluyera, of Merrillville, was killed when he tried to sell his Xbox to an online buyer near 51st Avenue and Maryland Street in Gary. Marcos Urenda, of Chicago, was charged with armed robbery, a level 3 felony, and misdemeanor theft in connection with the incident. The case has not gone to trial yet.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.