Officials said Friday someone who could be connected to the Wednesday shooting death of a 79-year-old Gary man sent threatening emails to Gary City Hall and the Merrillville Town Hall.
Gary Mayor Jerome Prince said he was working as usual at City Hall Friday.
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“We haven’t shut down. We’re keeping our eyes and ears open,” he said.
Prince said Merrillville officials closed the Town Hall Friday out of caution.
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Gary police launched a manhunt after the Wednesday killing of 79-year-old Cornelius Olive, who was shot while walking his dog near his residence in the 3200 block of West 21st Place.
Police searched for a person of interest on Thursday in wooded sections near the scene.
Olive’s family members said they believe the shooter was on foot.
They said Olive was walking the family dog, a small Yorkie-Shih Tzu mix named Kenzo about 9 p.m. when he was shot just east of his home.
A release from the Lake County Coroner said he died from a gunshot wound.
“He walked the dog every day,” said Olive’s daughter Kimberly Olive, who said she wasn’t sure if her father had been robbed.
Granddaughter Kamarie Caldwell was home during the shooting, but said she didn’t hear anything.
Kimberly Olive drew a chalk memorial of a rainbow and heart on the roadway where her father was found. She wrote under it: “We love you.”
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She said her father was a 1964 Gary Roosevelt graduate who retired from Blaw-Knox Foundry in East Chicago. She said he moved back to Gary from Mississippi recently to help his daughter care for her mother.
Kimberly Olive said her dad and another neighbor took care of elderly residents on their small block, taking in garbage cans and mowing lawns.
“His thing is he wanted the block to look nice. Kids would come down here and he’d fix their bikes,” she said. “He’s just a neighborhood guy.”
Gary police were expected to issue a release Friday afternoon.
Merrillville police said in a statement: “There is no specific type of incident that occurred in Merrillville, nor is there an immediate threat. This was done as a precautionary measure.”
Check back for updates at post-trib.com.
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Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
