MICHIGAN CITY — La Porte County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Samuelson was shot three times in the emergency room of Franciscan Health Michigan City on Friday morning. Samuelson, a 12-year veteran of the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office, had stopped to assist a stranded motorist earlier that morning.

Samuelson encountered 22-year-old Sharod Grafton Jr., a Chicago resident and sole occupant of a disabled vehicle on State Road 2, around 6:45 a.m. while en route to a training session. At Grafton’s request, Samuelson took him to Franciscan Health Michigan City. Once there, Samuelson learned that Grafton may have been involved in an earlier criminal incident. An altercation between the two then occurred in the emergency room, during which Grafton produced a firearm and shot Samuelson.

“Once at the hospital, the officer learned that the subject may have been involved in an earlier criminal incident. The officer returned inside the hospital where an altercation took place in the emergency room between the suspect and himself, which resulted in the suspect producing a firearm and shooting the officer,” Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said. “This is a senseless shooting that didn’t have to take place. This officer thought he was helping a stranded motorist and it turned into this.”

After the shooting, Grafton fled into a wooded area near the hospital but was arrested minutes later. Authorities recovered a handgun believed to have been in Grafton’s possession and used in the shooting. Grafton is being held in Porter County Jail, and charges are pending.

Samuelson, 33, was airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital and remains in critical condition. The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office described the shooting as an “isolated incident” and stated there was no immediate threat to the public. La Porte County Sheriff Ronald Heeg said, “La Porte County friends and neighbors, we are asking for our community to rise up, rally together, and lift Deputy Jon Samuelson and his family in prayer and support during this incredibly challenging time.” Samuelson is married with no children and comes from a family with deep ties to law enforcement—his grandfather was chief of police for La Porte, and his father is a retired Michigan City police officer.

The Indiana State Police are leading the investigation into the shooting. Authorities have not disclosed details about the earlier criminal incident Grafton may have been involved in.