Man, 82, hospitalized following officer-involved shooting in Gary, police say

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- An 82-year-old man is in the hospital after police shot him while sitting in the driver's seat of his car outside an apartment complex in northwest Indiana Sunday.

The man is struggling to pull through surgery after being shot several times by Gary police late Sunday afternoon.

Police were responding to a call of a man with a gun who refused to follow instructions before they opened fire, according to a law enforcement official.

Police haven't released any further details about the officer-involved shooting. But neighbors and friends identified the man as Melvin Bouler, 82.

Bouler was visiting Adnajay Okoe's mother when he was shot. While they are not related by blood, Okoe says Bouler took care of her and her mother since she was a child and she refers to him as her grandfather.

Okoe said Bouler was at the condo complex when he got into a verbal argument with her mother's boyfriend.

At some point, the boyfriend called police. But by the time they arrived, Okoe said the situation had been defused and Bouler was in his car getting ready to go home.

As for reports that Bouler had a gun, Okoe said that he does carry a weapon, but insists he has a permit for it. She also said he did not pull it on police.

"My granddaddy is old. He can't hear out of one of his ears. He's 80 years old," Okoe said. "If you're going to be talking to my granddaddy you need to explain stuff to him. I have to repeat stuff three or four times so it's not like he was being defiant and going against what the police were saying. That wasn't the case at all."

The Lake County Sheriff's Department in Indiana will conduct an investigation into the officer-involved shooting, Gary police said.

Gary police didn't provide any further comment Sunday night other than to acknowledge the initial shooting.