LaPorte County Sheriff's deputy saved nurse's life before suspect shot deputy in hospital emergency room

A nurse at a hospital in Michigan City, Indiana, told investigators that LaPorte County Sheriff's deputy Jon Samuelson saved his life just before an armed suspect shot the deputy in the hospital's emergency room last week.

The shooting happened Friday morning in the emergency room of Franciscan Health Michigan City. Sharod Grafton, 22, has been charged with attempted murder, battery against a public safety official and auto theft. 

According to Indiana State Police, around 6:45 a.m. on Friday Samuelson stopped to help a disabled vehicle on State Road 2 about a mile east of Westville, Indiana. The driver of the car, 22-year-old Sharod Grafton, asked Samuelson to take him to Franciscan Health Michigan City, which the deputy did.

Police said, after dropping the driver off at the hospital, Samuelson was notified that Grafton was wanted for stealing his mother's car at gunpoint in Chicago.

According to court documents in Grafton's case, Samuelson returned to the emergency room a short time after dropping Grafton off, and escorted him from the bathroom area to the waiting room, where he tried to handcuff Grafton.

Surveillance video showed Grafton pull his arm away from Samuelson and pulling out a handgun before Samuelson wrapped his arms around him, and both of them fell to the ground, according to court documents.

A nurse told investigators that, as Samuelson and Grafton were struggling over the gun, they tumbled into the triage area, where Grafton pointed the gun directly at him. When the nurse ducked into the hallway to avoid being shot, he saw Samuelson roll Grafton's hand away from him before Grafton shot the deputy "point blank," according to court documents.

The nurse told investigators Samuelson saved his life, and according to court documents, surveillance video also shows that immediately after the nurse ducked into the hallway to get away from Grafton, Samuelson stopped moving and appeared motionless.

After shooting Samuelson, Grafton ran away from the hospital and briefly hid in the bed of a truck in the parking lot, before fleeing into the woods nearby. He was taken into custody shortly after, and the gun he allegedly used to shoot Samuelson was found in the bed of the truck where he had been hiding.

Investigators determined the gun jammed after Grafton had shot Sameulson.

According to court documents, Samuelson, 33, was shot three times – one in the left shoulder, once in the right calf, and once behind his left ear, with that bullet piercing his neck and lodging in his spine. Samuelson has been left paralyzed from the chest down due to the bullet lodged in his spine.

A statement made on behalf of the deputy's family confirmed he underwent an approximately eight-hour surgery on Saturday and the "medical staff remain optimistic regarding his recovery." Samuelson was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend for advanced medical treatment after the shooting and, according to the sheriff's office, remained in critical but stable condition on Wednesday.

"Since last Saturday's initial update, Deputy Samuelson has made significant strides in his recovery. He is communicating with family, friends, and colleagues and remains in good spirits," the sheriff's office said in a statement on Facebook.

Samuelson is a 12-year veteran of the sheriff's office, serves as a member of the agency's Highway Interdiction Unit, is the handler for K-9 Bosco, and is designated as a US Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer out of the Merrillville District Office.

Sheriff's officials said Samuelson was reunited with his K-9 partner, Bosco, on Tuesday, in the intensive care unit.

After the shooting, investigators spoke to Grafton's mother, who told them her son had barricaded himself inside her home around 3 a.m. that day, while her two daughters were inside. After Grafton refused to let her in, she called 911 and forced her way inside the home through the back door.

Once inside, Grafton pointed a gun at his mother and demanded the keys to her car. After she haned them over, he fled the scene in her silver Chrysler 300.

Grafton originally was scheduled to appear in court in LaPorte County on Thursday, but that hearing has been scheduled after the judge in his case recused herself from the case and asked the county clerk's office to assign a new judge to the case. A new hearing has not yet been scheduled.