At least eight people have been shot dead since Sunday in a series of shootings in the suburbs of Chicago across three locations, with the perpetrator still at large, media reports said citing Illinois authorities.
The police in Joliet and Will counties are actively investigating to determine the motive behind the killings. According to the officials, the assailant was acquainted with the victims, reports said.
The victims of the tragic shooting incident were discovered over the period of Sunday and Monday at separate locations.
Authorities issued a warning on social media. As per the information given by them, the suspect should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
“ACTIVE INCIDENT (UPDATED) JANUARY 22, 2024 3:00 PM. At this moment, Detectives and Officers are conducting an active homicide investigation after Officers located multiple deceased individuals who had sustained gunshot wounds in two homes in the 2200 block of West Acres Road,” Joliet Police Department said on Tuesday (Jan 23).
One victim was found in a Will County residence on Sunday (Jan 21), while seven others were discovered on Monday (Jan 22) in two homes in Joliet. As per authorities, a 28-year-old man was found shot in Joliet Township, succumbing to his injuries at a hospital. Another man, aged 42, was discovered with a gunshot wound at a nearby Joliet address, with injuries deemed non-life-threatening.
Authorities were monitoring two houses
As per the information reportedly shared by Will County Chief Deputy Dan Jungles, deputies had been monitoring one of the residences since Sunday (Jan 21) evening.
The police were anticipating the return of the suspect involved in the day’s shootings.
When the suspect failed to appear, deputies approached the door of one house but received no response.
They then proceeded to check the second house, which they knew had a connection to the first. There, the authorities discovered the first set of victims.
Jungles stated that he had no information on the duration of time the victims had been deceased. Joliet Police, via a Facebook post, announced on Monday (Jan 22) afternoon about an ongoing investigation.
They said that they were looking into the discovery of “multiple” deceased individuals.
Photo of suspect shared
In a bid to catch the assailant who allegedly shot the people dead in a heinous crime, the authorities shared the suspect’s photo. Along with it, authorities also shared the images of a red Toyota Camry, identified as the associated vehicle, indicating that the car was present at the scenes of two separate Sunday afternoon shootings.
(With inputs from agencies)
