On October 2, 2021, 36-year-old Anthony Gibbs of Highland, Indiana, was shot outside the Economy Inn in Merrillville after a dispute over renting a room. Gibbs and his girlfriend had earlier been denied a room because Gibbs was reportedly on a do not rent list. Around 6 p.m., an argument with another man, identified as Barry Blu Billingsley, escalated; Gibbs was shot in the face and leg and found unresponsive on the sidewalk. His girlfriend suffered a gunshot wound to her foot and their dog was also injured.

Merrillville police arrested Billingsley on October 4, 2021, after a brief standoff and charged him with murder and aggravated battery in connection with Gibbs’s death. The defendant’s trial began in January 2025 but was declared a mistrial due to a medical emergency in the courtroom; a hearing on the defense’s motion to dismiss was set for January 15, 2025, with further scheduling dependent on that ruling.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about the events at the Economy Inn that evening, please share what is known.