Northwest Indiana social media reports about a shooting at a Gary skating rink on Friday beat the traditional news media to the story.

Local Twitter user Gioperation asks the local newspaper about reports that were circulating on Facebook and Twitter that eight children were shot at a Gary, Indiana skating rink about 10 a.m. Saturday morning:

@nwi any truth to the 8 kids shot last night at the Gary skating rink- couldn’t find it in your newspaper online.

A search of the local newspapers in Northwest Indiana and Chicago Breaking News on Saturday morning showed no reports of the Friday evening shooting. 

Writes Gioperation about not finding the news of the skating rink shooting this morning:

@Chris_Hedges do you know why there is not reports of the shooting last night at the skate rink in Gary last night- buzzing on FB!

Gioperation in a response to one of my questions said that he had first heard of the Gary skating rink shootings via Facebook:

@Chris_Hedges Here is the one that started it all – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=361015320488&id=1207179871

About 5 p.m. this evening, the Northwest Indiana Times reports the Gary, Indiana skating rink shooting incident via the Associated Press.

Authorities say eight teenage boys were shot while leaving a Gary skating rink where they were attending a concert.

The AP report about the 8 teens shot at the skating rink originated at the Post-Tribune sometime today:

Gary Police Cpl. Gabrielle King said Saturday “all chaos broke loose” when a fight broke out during the event and security advised attendees to leave Skate World, 4415 W. 5th Ave. in the Commons shopping center.

King said no arrests have been made. …

Police identified the wounded as: Shaquille Hughes, 15, shot in right side; Marcus Ratliff,14, shot in right wrist; Justin Bodley, 16, shot in the leg; Junan Washington, 18, shot in left ankle; DaVonte Biddings, 16, shot once in back; Marquel Croock, 16, shot in stomach; Kesean Philon, 14, shot in left leg; Stephan Danzy, 17, shot in left leg.

Technorati Tags: crime, Facebook, Gary, Indiana, Northwest Indiana, police, social media, Twitter

The Gary FOP has sent letters to Lake and Porter County police departments warning officers to “not assume (Gary Reserve officers) can be trusted,” writes Post-Tribune reporter Lori Caldwell.

The Gary Reserve officers are supervised by the mayor’s office and “are not required to answer to any police officials on a regular basis,” according to the FOP, reports the Post-Tribune.

A strongly worded letter from the Gary Fraternal Order of Police to police agencies in Lake and Porter counties warns officers to use caution around Gary’s reserve officers and “not assume they can be trusted.”

After months of internal struggle between sworn officers and reserves, FOP Lodge 61 chose to make its position public because the city failed to address the issues, FOP President Del Stout said.

“For officer safety reasons, we are asking that you please pass this information on to your officers,” the letter, signed by Stout and Vice-President Dave Saviola, states. … 

Two Gary reserves have been indicted in federal court, another was shot to death at a Hammond firing range by a reserve last year. Others have criminal backgrounds and have failed to passed firearms tests.

Chaos erupted at Gary’s Tolleston Middle school Wednesday morning.

Here’s the run-down on the war zone that broke out at the middle school.

Two bomb threats,

A fight,

Students attacking a security officer,

A mob threatening students and security officers,

Evacuation of 150 students, and

Two arrests and a police search for others involved attacks against school security.

Gary school security officers had to use pepper spray against a mob. Police arrested two middle school students and are looking for more involved in attacking a security officer, reports the Post-Tribune’s Sharlonda Waterhouse.

Technorati Tags: crime, Gary Indiana, Tolleston Middle School

Gary Police aren’t busting citizens rolling around town talking on their cell phones, despite a newly enacted ordinance banning cell phone usage while driving for a variety of reasons, but mostly because drug dealers and murderers are keeping them busy.

Reports the Post-Tribune’s Jerry Davich:

“There are far more serious crimes to worry about,” one Gary cop told me.

I’m glad to see the Gary Police are focusing on the priority cases, rather than chasing down people talking on cell phones while driving.

Technorati Tags: cell phone bans, crime, Gary Indiana, Gary Police

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