Hostage situation ends with toddler held at gunpoint saved by quick thinking officer - yet family says police 'didn't do enough'

GARY, IN -  A dangerous hostage situation in Gary, Indiana ended Wednesday when a 38-year-old man, identified as Antonio McMichaels, holding a one-year-old child at gunpoint turned his weapon on police. The man was shot and killed by officers from the Gary Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The child was rescued unharmed.

According to reporting from CBS News, the assailant was holding two people hostage, a 35-year-old man and the child. At some point during the confrontation, the 35-year-old man was allegedly shot by the assailant, who then fled. The victim refused medical treatment.

McMichaels reportedly refused to leave with police and opened fire on officers, leading them to deploy an armored vehicle to breach the building. Tear gas was deployed into the building, and the rear door was rammed open, but the suspect still refused to leave, continuing to fire on officers.
 

UPDATE: A man was fatally shot by police on Tuesday night after he barricaded himself inside a northwest Indiana home with his 1-year-old child, police say.

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After nearly eight hours, McMichaels exited the building holding the toddler, police said, and attempted to reach his vehicle parked nearby, pointing his gun at officers and using the child as a human shield.

An unidentified Gary police officer was able to target the hostage-taker and shoot him, neutralizing the threat to the child. The assailant was later pronounced dead.

The Gary Police Department said in commentary to WGN-TV that “all de-escalation efforts” were made and that McMichaels actively resisted them.

However, family members of McMichaels say police "didn't do enough" to de-escalate before the shooting became necessary. The suspect's sister, Sukari Calhoun, said that she wanted to talk to McMichaels through a bullhorn and that he would have walked away from the situation if she'd been allowed to.

GPD Chief of Police Derrick Cannon told reporters in a statement, “Our community is deeply saddened by this tragic incident that began as a family matter but escalated into a critical public safety situation involving a young child. I commend the officers who responded to this dangerous scene where the subject repeatedly fired at officers. I also extend my sincere gratitude to Lake County Sheriff, Oscar Martinez for providing additional resources, including their Police Assisted Recovery Initiative (PARI) team with licensed social workers who supported our negotiators’ de-escalation efforts.”