Man suspected of killing 8 people in suburban Chicago was related to most of the victims, police say
CHICAGO — A man suspected of shooting and killing eight people in suburban Chicago this weekend was related to most of the victims, authorities said Tuesday, a day after the 23-year-old fatally shot himself during a confrontation with law enforcement in Texas.
The Illinois authorities provided a clearer timeline of the shootings on Tuesday, saying they believe all eight people killed and a ninth person wounded were shot Sunday and Romeo Nance fled the area by that evening. But they told reporters there is no evidence of a motive yet for the killings.
“We can’t get inside his head,” Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans told reporters. “We just don’t have any clue as to why he did what he did.”
Investigators believe Nance first shot seven people at two relatives’ homes in the city of Joliet on Sunday, then fired randomly at two men — one outside an apartment building and another on a residential street, Joliet and Will County officials said Tuesday.
Police said they had not yet determined the victims’ exact relationships to Nance.
The Will County coroner on Tuesday identified the victims found at the Joliet homes: 38-year-old Christine Esters, 47-year-old Tamaeka Nance, 35-year-old William Esters II, 31-year-old Joshua Nance and 20-year-old Alexandria Nance. The names of two teenage girls, 14 and 16, were not released.
Authorities previously identified the man killed outside the apartment building as Toyosi Bakare, a 28-year-old man originally from Nigeria who had been living in the U.S. for about three years.
Nance fatally shot himself Monday evening after U.S. Marshals located him near Natalia, Texas, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and more than 1,000 miles (1,690 kilometers) from Joliet, authorities said. He had no known ties to Texas, Illinois authorities confirmed Tuesday.
Nance’s death was announced hours after Illinois authorities used social media and a news conference to share initial details of the killings there.
Medina County, Texas, Sheriff Randy Brown said his office received a call Monday about a person suspected in the Chicago-area killings heading into the county on Interstate 35.
Brown said he believes the suspect was trying to reach Mexico.
“It seems like they (criminal suspects) all head to Mexico,” which is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Natalia along Interstate 35, Brown said Tuesday.
Officers from multiple agencies confronted Nance, Brown said.
The Texas Rangers are investigating Nance’s death and believe he shot himself, said Lt. Jason Reyes, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, of which the Rangers are part.
Reyes said he could not provide any other information about the circumstances of Nance’s death or his confrontation with law enforcement officers, saying his agency was only brought in to investigate after the fact.
