ELKHART, Ind. — Authorities on Tuesday have identified the gunman and two people killed during a shooting at a northern Indiana grocery store.
Juan M. Sanchez, 54, was the suspect in the late Monday afternoon shooting at Martin’s Supermarket in Elkhart, according to the Elkhart County prosecutor’s office.
Sanchez was shot to death after police confronted him outside the store.
“The gunman fired multiple times at the officers who responded by shooting and killing him,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release.
Corporal Paul Vandenburg and Patrolman Ethan Pasternak were wounded during the confrontation. Pasternak remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition.
Police received a 911 call at about 5:30 p.m. about the shooting. Officers found 49-year-old Benjamin Jeffery and 19-year-old Annasue Rocha dead inside the market. Jeffery was a customer, while Rocha worked there.
Numerous shots were fired inside the store, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Sanchez had moved to the Elkhart area within the past year from Illinois, prosecutors said.
“In this horrific situation, words cannot express the pain felt in our community when a tragic incident like this happens,” Elkhart Police Department Chief Dan Milanese said in a statement Monday night.
The shooting and the actions of the officers are being investigated by the Elkhart County Homicide Unit.
“That investigation is actively underway with collection of numerous types of evidence, witness interviews, and the gathering of background information to answer the questions that are undoubtedly on everyone’s mind, especially ‘why,’ ” the prosecutor’s office said. “However, that takes time and objectivity.”
Elkhart is about 15 miles east of South Bend, Indiana.
