Ind. ER Staff Launch Raffle to Help Deputy Shot During Hospital Attack
What to know
- Emergency room staff at Franciscan Health in Michigan City launched a “Freezer Beef Benefit Raffle” to support LaPorte County Deputy Jon Samuelson, who was shot three times during a May 22 hospital shooting.
- Tickets cost $20, with four winners each receiving a quarter of a cow, and all proceeds going directly to Samuelson’s family; local businesses donated the beef and processing.
- Court documents detail how Samuelson intervened during the attack, redirecting the suspect’s gun as a nurse avoided being shot, with the nurse later saying the deputy’s actions saved his life.
Beef was donated by Mitzner Meats, The J-Mart, John's Garage and Shaffner Tire, Horne said. Sim's Meat Processing volunteered to process the meat at no cost.
"It was our department that was under attack that day, and Jon took care of us. So we want to do something to take care of him," Horne said.
A flyer posted to social media encourages anyone interested in entering the raffle to contact any of the businesses who are donating the beef or a Franciscan Health Michigan City ER nurse.
Horne also told The Times that nurses and other organizers will be out at the Chesterton and LaPorte markets in the next two weeks to sell tickets.
Nurse credits deputy with saving his life, affidavit says
Horne is not the person crediting Samuelson with saving lives.
In an affidavit filed on Tuesday, a male nurse at the hospital at the time of the incident details his near-death encounter with the suspect, 22-year-old Sharod Grafton.
The nurse ran toward Samuelson in the triage area and encountered the alleged suspect, Grafton, pointing the gun "directly at him," court documents say.
The affidavit says the nurse quickly side-stepped into the hallway in an effort to evade being shot and, at the same time, saw Samuelson "roll" Grafton's hand to redirect the gun away from the nurse.
Grafton fired the gun, striking Samuelson in the neck, according to the nurse's account. The nurse told police that he "believed that the suspect had his gun depressed against Deputy Samuelson's neck and shot him 'point blank,'" the affidavit said.
The nurse told police after the incident that Samuelson had saved his life, and "if it were not for his actions, he would have been shot by the suspect."
Samuelson then stopped moving and appeared motionless, an Indiana State Patrol officer said in court documents after reviewing the security camera footage.
Grafton then allegedly pointed his pistol at the deputy's motionless body, "however, no recoil on the pistol was observed," the affidavit said.
Police later recovered the weapon and discovered that the last time it had attempted to be fired, it had jammed.
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