An incident involving a man who allegedly brandished a sidearm in a threatening fashion Tuesday at the polling place at Eads Elementary School in Munster is under investigation, according to officials.
Munster Police Chief Steve Scheckel said police are investigating the incident that happened Tuesday afternoon involving a man who allegedly was wearing a sidearm.
“From what I understand, he got in an argument with another person at the poll,” Scheckel said.
That argument escalated but it never became physical, he said. At some point during the argument, the man allegedly tapped the side of his hip with the weapon saying he felt threatened, Scheckel said.
Police had been called earlier during the altercation and arrived around that time. The man was removed from the polling place, he said, adding everything at the polling place went back to normal pretty quickly after the incident.
“There’s really no call for it,” Scheckel said. “Tempers flare. I’m not sure why.”
Munster students were not in the building on Tuesday as the district conducted an e-learning day. All of the district’s school buildings serve as polling places.
Scheckel said police have a lot of statements to pore through and will work with the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office to determine whether or not the subject involved in the incident will be charged.
Word of the incident spread on social media. Jim Wieser, chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, confirmed an incident occurred at the polling place but said he had no details of what transpired.