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On January 21, 2024, a gunman opened fire on three separate occasions in and around Joliet, Illinois. A total of eight people were killed, and one person was injured. The perpetrator, 23-year-old Romeo Nance, who was related to seven of the victims, fatally shot himself a day later after being confronted by law enforcement officials near Natalia, Texas. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Illinois history, surpassing the shootings in Highland Park and Palatine. To date, it is currently the deadliest mass shooting of 2024.

Shootings

At around 4:15 pm CST, the perpetrator, Romeo Nance, drove by a 42-year-old man who was getting items out of his car in the 200 block of Davis Street in Joliet. Nance briefly stopped and the two exchanged words before Nance drove on. After the man crossed the street, Nance returned from the other direction and opened fire, striking the man in the leg before driving away.

Around 10 minutes later, the Will County Sheriff's Office responded to the Pheasant Run Apartments complex in Preston Heights, where officers discovered 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare with a gunshot wound to the head. Bakare was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Using surveillance footage from the shootings, the Sheriff's Office was able to identify the perpetrator and vehicle, but were unable to locate either. Deputies then set up surveillance near Nance's home in the 2200 block of West Acres Road in Joliet at around midnight. After about 12 hours, deputies approached Nance's home and spotted blood outside and subsequently made entry. Inside, they found 47-year-old Tameka Nance and 35-year-old William Esters II dead of gunshot wounds. Tameka was the mother of the shooter, and William was the shooter's uncle. The Sheriff's Office then contacted the Joliet Police Department.

Officers checked a second house on the same block because it was inhabited by some of Nance's family members. Inside they found 37-year-old Christine Esters, 31-year-old Joshua Nance, 20-year-old Alexandria Nance, 14-year-old Angel Nance, and 16-year-old Alonnah Nance all dead from gunshot wounds. Jon W. Hansen was interviewed by police in late January after the shootings and revealed that he was with Nance during at least two of the shootings. He said that Nance gave him the weapon he used to shoot one of the victims and that Hansen threw the gun into the nearby DuPage River. Authorities searched the river and found a loaded black Springfield Armory XDS pistol.

Attempted escape and perpetrator

Nance then drove south to Texas, where police believe he stopped at a mall and acquired Texas license plates which he put onto his vehicle to attempt to throw authorities off his trail. At around 8:30 pm CST the following day, U.S. Marshals located Nance in Natalia. Nance was then confronted by police at a gas station just outside of Natalia, and he fatally shot himself with a handgun during a stand-off with police.

All of the victims, except the injured 42-year-old man and Bakare, were related to Nance, but police believe Bakare was connected to Nance in some way. Police also said that Nance had a criminal history but have yet to disclose what that entails.

In 2018, the shooter was charged with an armed robbery using a knife. In January 2023, he was arrested for allegedly opening fire on another driver during a road rage incident.

Aftermath

Shortly after the shootings, Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, the girlfriend of Romeo Nance was arrested and charged with felony obstruction of justice. Judge David Carlson ordered that she be placed on home confinement until further notice. On February 9, 2024, she pled not guilty to the charge.

On May 31, 2024, 24-year-old Jon Hansen, of Shorewood, was arrested on three counts of murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. He is accused of being with Nance during both of the shootings in the Joliet area and throwing the gun that was used in the DuPage River near his home.

References

1. Sutton, Joe; Alonso, Melissa; Feldman, Jennifer (January 23, 2024). "Suspect in killings of 8 people in Chicago area has died in Texas, police say". CNN. Retrieved September 26, 2024. It is believed that the weapon used in this incident was a 9-millimeter handgun.
2. ^ ABC7 Chicago Digital Team (June 1, 2024). "Man charged in connection with Joliet-area murder spree, Will County Sheriff's Office says". ABC7. Retrieved September 26, 2024. diver found a loaded black Springfield Armory XDS pistol{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. "Romeo Nance gun". Patch.com. The 9mm handgun shown in this picture is two aftermarket parts (a Polymer80 PFC9 Compact frame with a Live Free Armory LF19 Elite slide (9mm)) put together.
4. ^ D'Onofrio, Jessica; Gallardo, Michelle; Horng, Eric (January 23, 2024). "Joliet shooting victims ID'd; new details after suspect in 8 Will County murders dies in Texas". WLS-TV. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
5. ^ Alonso, Melissa; Sutton, Joe; Feldman, Jennifer (January 23, 2024). "Suspect in killings of 8 people in Chicago area has died in Texas, police say". CNN. CNN. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
6. Gallardo, Michelle; Horng, Eric (January 24, 2024). "Relationships between 7 Will County shooting victims, suspect revealed; police arrest girlfriend". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
7. Harrington, Adam; Ramos, Andrew; Bizzle, Jeramie; Feurer, Todd (January 25, 2024). "Girlfriend of suspect in Joliet, Illinois murders faces up to 6 years in prison, charged with obstruction". CBS News. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
8. Alonso, Melissa; Sutton, Joe (January 23, 2024). "Suspect in killings of 8 people in Chicago area has died in Texas, police say". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
9. Samra, Mohammad; Schuba, Tom; Grimm, Andy (February 3, 2024). "Newly released records show violent history of man accused of killing 8 in Joliet —including fight with police a year ago". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
10. Samra, Mohammad (January 26, 2024). "Girlfriend of Joliet mass murder suspect Romeo Nance held on home confinement in obstruction of justice case". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
11. "Girlfriend of suspect in fatal shootings of 8 in Chicago suburb charged with obstruction, police say". AP News. AP News. January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
12. "Girlfriend of suspect in deadly Will County shootings pleads not guilty to obstruction". ABC7. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.

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