A man is dead and a Chesterton Police officer was injured after exchanging multiple gunshots in the middle of Gateway Boulevard in front of the Hilton Garden Inn Wednesday morning.

The male police officer, whose name was not being released, sustained injuries that were not life-threatening and his prognosis is “good,” Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson said during a Wednesday morning news conference at the police station.

The officer was taken by helicopter for treatment to an Illinois hospital; police declined to name the hospital.

The injured patrol officer is 33 and a five-year veteran of the Chesterton Police. A second male police officer involved in the shooting, a veteran with more than 25 years on the department, was not injured in the exchange, Richardson said.

“It was a rapidly evolving situation at the hotel this morning where unfortunately our officers had to exchange gunfire with the suspect,” Richardson said. “Our thoughts are with the officer and his family. They are the most important.”

Indiana State Police, who immediately took charge of the shooting investigation, stated the victim is a white male.

Sgt. Glen Fifield, public information officer for the Indiana State Police Lowell Post, said during the news conference that investigators are still sorting through many details.

Fifield said they were still trying to establish the dead man’s identity. The Porter County Coroner’s office will release his identification after next of kin are notified; autopsy and toxicology results are pending.

For hours Wednesday morning, the man’s dead body lay underneath a blood-stained white sheet at the northeast corner of Gateway Boulevard and Matson Drive.

It all started with a phone call from a Hilton Garden Inn employee at 8 a.m. Wednesday, asking the Chesterton police to investigate a man on their property who was “acting suspiciously,” Fifield said.

Fifield said he couldn’t share details of how the man was acting suspiciously or if he was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn.

“Something brought his attention to their attention in the way he was acting and obviously, there was something going on where there would be a confrontation and an exchange of gunfire,” Fifield said.

From appearances at the shooting scene, the gun battle proceeded from the parking lot north across Gateway Boulevard.

There were more than 50 yellow cones, marking evidence in the middle of Gateway Boulevard where the shooting occurred.

Most of the cones were covering shells.

A pistol was also in the middle of the street. Fifield confirmed that a gun was recovered at the scene.

There also appeared to be packs used by emergency workers discarded in the middle of Gateway Boulevard.

Indiana State Police crime scene investigators were combing the area for evidence hours afterward. Fifield did say that video from the hotel and a nearby Speedway gas station would likely be reviewed.

Postings on social media noted that one person, working nearby, heard multiple gunshots. A woman stopped in traffic at the nearby Indiana 49 intersection saw the gunman and heard the shots. She said she called 911.

Richardson said he can understand that the Chesterton community would be “deeply shaken” by an officer being shot. No one could remember the last time a Chesterton police officer was shot during a confrontation.

“What often goes unseen is our officers putting their lives on the line for our community. And two of our officers did just that this morning,” Richardson said. “I want to thank the Chesterton community for their continued support. I will also ask for your patience because this is going to take a week or two for all these events that transpired this morning to play out.”

Richardson said he was proud of his officers and the bravery they showed.

“It’s not every day you come to work and you get involved in an officer-involved shooting. The bravery of these officers in protecting our community, in protecting what might have been going on at the hotel. The fine men and women of the Chesterton police department, I am so proud right now,” Richardson said.

The two Chesterton police officers involved in the shooting have been put on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting.

Richardson also thanked officers from surrounding departments. The Porter County Sheriff’s Office, Valparaiso Police, Porter Police, Burns Harbor Police and Ogden Dunes Police were there to assist the Chesterton police and Indiana State Police in securing the wide-ranging scene.

Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann was also on the scene.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.