Family demands answers after Gary man killed in officer-involved shooting

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- A Northwest Indiana family is demanding answers from police after officers shot and killed a man outside his home.

Gary police still haven't released details about an officer-involved shooting that left 25-year-old Rashad Cunningham dead Saturday, but his loved ones are speaking out.

The Gary Police Department has only confirmed that a police-involved shooting took place at around 3 a.m. Saturday, while on-duty officers were conducting a traffic stop.

The shooting occurred near East 23rd Avenue and Kentucky Street, according to Gary Police Lt. Dawn Westerfield. No officers were injured in the shooting, Westerfield said.

Cunningham's girlfriend, Heather Fox, said she was with him a few hours before he was fatally shot.

"We were at the club together last night, dancing and everything was fine," Fox said. "He walked me to the car. Told me he loved me. I told him call me when you get home, he never called me."

David Nusz, a friend, said he was with Cunningham the morning he died. He said that police didn't conduct a traffic stop.

Nusz said he was parked in front of Cunningham's home, dropping him off after a night out.

"Cop drives down the street, shines his light on us. We ask why he's doing that. This is his house," Nusz said. "The cops asked us for ID's. I was getting mine out. As he's walking up, we're getting ours out, he must have seen the gun on his lap. Which he had a permit for. He wasn't reaching for it or nothing, the cop opened fire. Cop said 'gun' fired five or six times."

Cunningham doesn't have a felony criminal record.

ABC 7 is working to confirm whether Cunningham had a valid conceal carry permit.

Fox, the mother of Cunningham's youngest child, said she's seen him show the document on more than one occasion.

"Every time we get pulled over he informs the police that he has a gun in the car. He never reaches for it. Asks them permission to give them the gun, shows them his gun permit. He never has a problem with that. They never gave him a chance to show the permit, they just shot him," Fox said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office will conduct an investigation into what happened.

The office and Gary police haven't yet responded to ABC 7's request for more information on the circumstances of the man's death.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.