Two off-duty police officers shot at bar in NW Indiana

HIGHLAND, Ind. (WLS) -- Two off-duty cops were wounded in a bar shooting early Saturday in Highland in northwest Indiana.

An East Chicago officer was shot in the head and was in serious condition Saturday evening at Advocate Christ Medical Center. A Gary officer was wounded in the arm and released from the hospital by the afternoon.

Two men were arrested in connection with the shooting, but no charges were filed as of 5 p.m.

The shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. at Growlers bar, located in the 2800-block of Highway Avenue, after two men who tried to re-enter the bar shortly before the bar was closing.

The men were asked to leave the bar by bar security, but they refused.

The Gary police officer, who was working as a bouncer at the bar, got involved, as did the East Chicago cop.

Witnesses said they heard yelling and then gunshots.

"All of a sudden there was a lot of yelling, and a lot of pushing and then there were gunshots and ... everyone who was inside the bar - probably a crowd of about 60 people - we all got pushed back to the bar in the back of the room, and they told us to stay down until everything was clear," said Matthew Potacki, a bar patron.

Police arrested the two suspects about a block from the bar as they were walking away.