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BY CHRISTINE KRALY
and MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
Times Staff Writers | Friday, December 05, 2008 | (3 comment(s))
GARY | The early morning discovery of two gunshot victims -- including one who was pregnant -- forced a Gary charter school into lockdown mode Thursday.
A parent dropping off his child for class Thursday at Gary's Aspire Charter Academy discovered the bodies of one female and one male lying near the school's soccer field, said Tara Powers, spokeswoman for charter sponsor National Heritage Academies.
The Lake County coroner was called to the school in the 1300 block of Mount Street after 8 a.m., Coroner David Pastrick said.
Gary police are seeking the public's help in identifying the two people.
The black female, who is believed to be in her teens, was shot twice in the head, Pastrick said. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall and 106 pounds and was three to four months pregnant when she died, Pastrick said.
She has a large lettered tattoo spelling "Shay" in cursive on her lower back and has another "Shay" tattoo in cursive on her upper right arm. Underneath the arm marking is a Winnie the Pooh tattoo, the coroner said.
She has a large surgical scar down the middle of her chest, and a birthmark on the top of her right ankle and wore three sets of earrings: Winnie the Pooh, a green stone and a gold-colored heart.
Neither the female nor the male were among the school's roughly 400 students, Powers said.
The black male, also unidentified, was found with a gunshot wound to his head and is in critical condition at the Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary, police Sgt. William Fazekas said.
Fazekas said he is at least 6 feet tall, wearing white leather Nike high-top shoes, blue jeans, a red belt and black zip sweat shirt.
Powers said the school notified parents of the bodies through an automated voice-mail system and sent children home with letters detailing the incident Thursday. Officials locked school doors, allowing no one in or out without approval.
The school also is hiring a 24-hour security surveillance service for the next few weeks, Powers said.
Anyone with information on the shootings is asked to call Fazekas at (219) 881-1210.
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messenger wrote on Dec 5, 2008 8:09 PM:
Dan Blankenship wrote on Dec 5, 2008 4:59 PM:
We have NO IDEA why these people were shot or what happened. This is news because any clues people might call in could lead to justice!
But I do agree with the fact that MORE policemen and more money for police departments are needed! "
This happened in Gary wrote on Dec 5, 2008 11:49 AM: