Three men are dead after a shooting in a home in Northwest Indiana on Friday, and police said it might have been a murder-suicide.
The act of violence happened in a house in the 600 block of Colfax Street, at Oak Street, in unincorporated Griffith. It is a quiet neighborhood, and neighbors were alarmed.
“This place is quiet,” said Patty Estrada. “That’s why I’m like, oh my gosh – what is going on with this world today?”
Estrada was sitting in her living room Friday afternoon when she heard two gunshots.
“I sat up,” said Estrada. “I seen a man laying in the driveway, another man straddling him going through his pockets, and then left him and went in the door.”
She ran inside to call 911.
“Maybe three to five minutes before he went back in the house, I heard one gunshot,” Estrada said. “But my neighbor stated she heard two gunshots.”
Estrada said she saw Lake County, Indiana Sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after. She took a video of what appeared to be SWAT team members also at the scene.
At the home, investigators said they found three men shot – two of whom were dead.
A third one was transported to the hospital in critical condition but also later died.
On Saturday, the three men who were found dead were identified as Marshall Lawson Jr., 69; Robert Secviar, 63; and John Stefanich, 67.
All three died of gunshot wounds, according to the Lake County, Indiana Coroner’s office. The manner of death for Lawson and Secviar was homicide, but for Stefanich, the manner of death was still pending Saturday afternoon.
Secviar’s address was listed as the unincorporated Griffith house, while Lawson’s home address was in Hammond and Stefanich’s in Highland.
Investigators said the incident may have been a murder-suicide.
“They were nice, respectable, didn’t cause any trouble,” said Rhonda Fierro.
Fierro lives next door. She said two roommates moved into the house over a year ago.
She was at her kitchen table when she heard two gunshots – and the incident has left her with many questions.
“Who shot who?” Fierro said.
As of late Friday, investigators had not provided details about what led to the shooting or who may have been behind it.
