Romeoville, Ill. – Police are questioning four people in connection with the shooting of a mother and her teenage daughter in the 300 block of Emery Avenue early Thursday, but no charges have been filed.
Police said the 15-year-old girl and her mother, 33, had just left their home and were sitting in a vehicle in their driveway when a suspect walked up to the vehicle and opened fire. According to police, the girl was shot in the head and the mother in the neck.
The suspect, described only as a "short male," fled on foot after the shooting, heading west on 135th Street, police said.
Village Manager Steve Gulden said both victims were initially taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, and the girl was later airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. The mother was also eventually transported to Loyola, police said.
Gulden said officials do not have any information the victims' conditions.
"The hospital isn't releasing that information," he said.
Police said the four "persons of interest" were located during a search of the neighborhood conducted by Romeoville police with the help of the Will County Sheriff’s Department, the Crest Hill Police Department and the Joliet Police Department.
Gulden said all four persons of interest are male, but could not say whether any of them is believed to be the suspected shooter.
"That is ongoing," Gulden said of the investigation.
Gulden said it investigators do not believe the shooting was a random incident.
"Police believe it is not random, that the victims did know the individual that fired the weapon," Gulden said.
The shooting remains under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information in reference to these incidents is asked to contact the Romeoville Police Department at 815-886-7219. Citizens may also provide information using the anonymous tip line at 815-328-5205.
ORIGINAL STORY: Police were searching for a suspect who shot a mother and daughter in the 300 block of Emery Avenue in Romeoville Thursday morning.
Chief Mark Turvey said the victims were sitting in a vehicle when the shooting happened around 7 a.m., and the suspect, described as a "short male," fled on foot.
"They both were transported to the hospital," Turvey said, but did not give details on the victims' condition. "As far as I know, they are both still alive."
He did not know the daughter's age, but said he believed she is in her teens or early 20s.
"Currently, we are searching the neighborhood for this individual," Turvey said.
"We don't know what his name is, we have some other leads we are working on," he said. Turvey said he did not know the relationship between the victims and the shooter.
"We really don't know the motive at this point," Turvey said. He could not say if there were previous incidents or reports of domestic violence at the victims' Emery Avenue home.
Turvey said another man taken into custody Thursday morning is not believed to be involved in the case.
"We saw a man that was fleeing the area," Turvey said. "It turned out he had a warrant, but he was not connected to the shooting." The man saw cops in the area, got scared and fled, according to Turvey.
Police said K-9 units were being used to track the suspect, and helicopters could also been seen hovering in the area Thursday morning.
Romeoville schools were placed on soft lockdown as a precaution, although Turvey said there was no reason to believe there was any connection between the shooter and the schools. The lockdown ended shortly before 10 a.m., according to Valley View School District.
According to a release from the Village of Romeoville, local police and the Will-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the shooting.
