Community Members React to Fatal Stabbing at Naperville Bar

The Naperville community was reeling Saturday after a Spring Brook Elementary School teacher was killed and two others injured in an .

Police reported a stabbing around 1 a.m. Saturday at , where they arrested Daniel J. Olaska in connection with the attack that left 24-year-old Shaun Wild dead, Lemont native Willie Hayes in serious condition at , and a bar bouncer injured. Olaska, 27, of the 1500 block of Fox Hill Drive in Naperville, was charged Saturday afternoon with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Community members expressed a mixture of shock, anger and grief related about the incident throughout the day.

“First and foremost, our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, as well as to our injured security staff and to all of our customers and staff who are mourning this tragedy,” Frankie’s owner Riff Menza told Naperville Patch via email. “For 27 years, we have enjoyed a safe and enjoyable environment for our patrons. It was an unforeseeable tragedy apparently caused by a very troubled individual.”

In a statement, the called the incident a “malicious act,” and extended sympathies to the friends and families of everyone involved. The NDP also emphasized that Frankie’s Blue Room, other local businesses and city officials alike have made a point to prioritize safety downtown.

“This tragedy touches so many in the community,” NDP Chairman Dave Kelsch said in the statement. “From the family and friends of Shaun Wild to the teachers and faculty of and the young students at , this loss is immeasurable.”

In a letter to parents posted on the Spring Brook website, Principal David Worst said Wild joined the school's staff this year as a second-grade teacher and was highly regarded. Worst said he and the school’s teachers would deliver the news to students on Monday and will have a crisis team on hand to help students cope with the news of Wild’s death.

offered similar services to students throughout Saturday, concluding with .

"Tragedies like this are, in some senses, beyond our comprehension as human beings," North Central College President Harold Wilde said in a statement Saturday. "They run against what our minds and hearts tell us is the order of the universe. They are a moment to fall back on each other, our ties to the community and our faith in something larger than ourselves. Many students, coaches, faculty, staff and alumni have lost a dear friend. The healing, the binding up of the wounds, will take a long time, but it begins today."

City Council Member Bob Fiesler attended North Central’s prayer service, saying news of the attack “ripped (his) heart out.”

“On behalf of the mayor and the other City Council members, we want to reach out to you,” he said. “... There are 141,000 people in Naperville and we all feel the pain. … We will bring to bear any of the resources you need. ... This is a huge loss for the Wild family, North Central College and for ."

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