Employee shot, killed in parking lot of Portage business during shift change

An employee was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a manufacturing company in Portage.

Police responded to Camaco, located in the 6500 block of Ameriplex Drive, at around 3:30 a.m. on the report of a shooting.

Officers at the scene located an employee, a 22-year-old man, of Burns Harbor, dead at the scene in the parking lot.

Family identified him Wednesday afternoo as Lenell Jenkins.

Witnesses told police that during a shift change, a verbal argument took place between Jenkins and a suspect and the 22-year-old was shot. The shooter, another employee, fled before police arrived.

Lupe McGee Jr., 20, was identified as the alleged gunman. He was taken into custody at his Merrillville home and preliminarily charged with murder.

A handgun was also recovered from McGee Jr.’s home that investigators believe was the weapon used in the homicide.

Jenkins’ first child is due just after Christmas and his mom said he always wanted to become a father.

“My whole family, we are so distraught right now,” mother Caroline Jenkins said. “I had six kids, now I have five.”

Other businesses in the area continued Wednesday with normal operations, according to police.