Caden Mura Obituary – The individual who lost his life during a shooting involving an officer in Valparaiso on Thursday afternoon has been identified as Caden Mura, a 20-year-old resident of Valparaiso, according to the Porter County Coroner’s Office. The incident is currently being investigated, and the cause and manner of death are pending the results of the autopsy and toxicology reports, as stated by the coroner’s office.
At 3:04 p.m. on Thursday, officials from the coroner’s office were summoned to the emergency room at Northwest Health-Porter hospital in response to the death. Indiana State Police, who are handling the investigation due to the nature of the shooting, reported that officers were dispatched to the vicinity near Valparaiso’s Fairgrounds Park after receiving a report of a suspicious individual carrying a handgun.
The man in question was located by the police near the Butterfield Pavilion, according to ISP. As the officers approached the suspect, he fled and ran towards Calumet Avenue. A foot chase ensued, during which an exchange of gunfire allegedly occurred between the suspect and the police. Officers from both the Valparaiso Police Department and the Porter County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the pursuit.
The man, later identified as Mura, sustained injuries from the gunfire and was transported to Northwest Health-Porter hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to state police. Jesse Harper, a Center Township Trustee and attorney, witnessed the shooting. He recounted that he was preparing to go for a run around 2:15 p.m. at Fairgrounds Park when the commotion unfolded.
Harper noticed a police officer driving his vehicle inside the park, which struck him as unusual, as he walked from the parking lot on the north side of the park to the running trail. The officer drove his squad car directly up to the fence on the west side of the park, Harper said.
“On the other side of the fence on Calumet there were several other officers, so I thought it was maybe an accident or a traffic stop,” Harper said. “I would say maybe a minute later the shots began.”
Upon hearing the gunshots, Harper and several others immediately took cover by crouching down due to the alarming sound.