Chicago [US], January 23 : A man suspected to have shot and killed at least seven people, whose bodies were found inside two homes in the Chicago suburb of Joliet, was found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, authorities said on Tuesday, as reported by ABC News.
Authorities earlier said that they had launched a hunt for a "dangerous" suspect they identified as Romeo Nance, 23, who shot and killed seven people in two neighbouring houses in West Acres road in Joliet, Illionis, a city that is about 35 kilometres southwest of Chicago.
Nance had been located by US Marshals near Natalia, Texas, and it was "believed that Nance took his own life with a handgun following a confrontation with Texas law enforcement officials." police said on Monday night (local time), accoding to ABC News
The first victim, a 28-year-old man described as a Nigerian immigrant was found shot in the head outdoors at an apartment complex in Joliet Township. He was declared dead at a hospital, Will County Sheriff's Office said as reported by NBC News. Joliet is located inside Will Country.
The deceased was later identified as Toyosi Bakare, who was from Nigeria but had been living for the past three years in the Will County area, according to Will County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief of Operations, Dan Jungles.
An hour before responding to the Pheasant Run Apartments call, where they found Bakare, Joliet Police officers responded to a call in Davis Street, where they said they discovered a 42-year-old man who was shot in the leg and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said. The injured man was not identified.
Dan Jungles said Nance was a suspect in both the attacks.
Joliet Police Department in a post on X said: "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."
{{{{twitter_post_id####}}}}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. pic.twitter.com/zOTKSjs0RC
— Joliet Police Department (@JolietPolice) January 22, 2024
After Nance's cara red Toyota Camrywas seen near the scene of both Sunday shootings, the sheriff's department began to surveil the 2200 block of West Acres, where Nance's last known address is, and were hoping to find the vehicle, according to Jungles, CNN reported.
After noting that Nance was not in the car, deputies knocked on the door of one of the homes but did not receive any response, Jungle added.
"When they received no response, they knew the house across the street was related to the individuals that resided at that house and they walked over there," he said.
Meanwhile, at the second home, deputies saw blood on the door and when they entered, they found two dead victims.
Jungle further said that five more victims were found in the first home, though it unclear how long they had been dead inside, as reported by CNN.
Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said Monday police do not have a motive at this time but the suspect "does know the victims."
Authorities have yet to publicly identify the victims found inside the homes, but Evans said police believe they are from the same family.
"I've been a policeman for 29 years. This is probably the worst crime scene I've ever been associated with," Evans said at the news conference.
The killings are believed to be connected to the two other shootings on Sunday, Evans said, according to CNN.
The sheriff's department had earlier said that it and police are working with the FBI's Fugitive Task Force and had urged the public to help them track Nance down, authorities said.
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