Police question shooting suspect

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More than 10 hours after a shooting in the 25000 block of Blackberry lane, a police presence was evident Tuesday evening outside the Channahon apartment building where the shooting took place. Two people were wounded in what was initially reported as a home invasion. (Herald Photo by Heidi Terry-Litchfield)

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CHANNAHON – Police Tuesday evening were questioning a person of interest regarding the early morning shooting of a man and a woman in an apartment.

“We currently have one person of interest in custody, who we believe may be involved” said Channahon Police Chief Joe Pena during a 5 p.m. Tuesday press conference. “When more information becomes available, we will share it with the public.”

Both victims were transported to an area hospital following their discovery Tuesday morning and, according to Pena, were still receiving medical attention Tuesday evening.

Pena reported the man was in critical condition. He was unaware of the woman’s condition.

As the investigation is ongoing, police declined to release the names of the victims. Pena said the man and woman were acquaintances, but he believed only the man lived at the scene of the shooting.

“When police arrived at the scene, they located two individuals, one male and one female, both in their 20’s, shot and bleeding, and immediately summoned paramedics,” Pena said.

Earlier Tuesday, Village President Joe Cook had indicated police went to the apartment building in the 25000 block of Blackberry Lane in response to a 911 call received around 6:30 a.m. Pena said during the press conference the original call was for a home invasion.

“The neighbor called 911 after they heard screaming,” Pena said.

Shortly after the investigation began, Channahon Police requested the assistance of the newly created Will/Grundy County Major Crimes Task, “which responded with a great deal of manpower and resources,” Pena said.

“Throughout the day, our agency and the task force have conducted numerous interviews in an attempt to uncover a motive and identify possible suspects,” said Pena, who said investigators do not believe the shooting was a random act.

He added that Channahon police have had contact with both victims in the past 30 days and both may, at one time, have been arrested previously.

Cook acknowledged village hall had received calls on Tuesday from residents expressing concerns. He stressed, however, this type of incident is not typical of Channahon, despite an attempted-murder/suicide in the village and the discovery of the skeletal remains of a man in the DesPlaines River near the community in recent weeks.

“It’s not often people see news helicopters flying around and police blocking off roads in our community,” Cook said.

“Our police are working to ensure the safety of our general public.”

Pena said that, when people live in an area where the economy is taking its toll the way it is locally, people’s behaviors sometimes are “outside the norm.”

“There are often several influencing factors to why people do what they do,” the chief said.

This case is the first for the major crimes task force, which was activated June 1. It consists of members from Shorewood, Bolingbrook, Minooka, Joliet, Mokena and Romeoville police departments, the Grundy and Will county sheriff’s departments and members of the Secret Service.

There are a total of 86 members of the task force available to participate in an investigation.

Each member agency paid $1,000 toward the task force, which is seeking grants.

“There are many very experienced investigators on this task force and today this group showed how everythings we’ve planned for worked seamlessly,” Pena said.

Pena urged members of the public to come forward with any information they may have regarding this case. The Channahon Police Department can be contacted at (815) 467-2112, or those with information can call Crime Stoppers of Will County at 1-800-323-6734.

Morris Daily Herald Managing Editor Patrick Graziano contributed to this report.

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