Joliet shooting today: Joliet homicide investigation underway after child, mom killed in 700-block of Garnsey Avenue, police say
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) — A person of interest is in custody after a 4-year-old boy and his mother were shot to death at a south suburban home on Sunday morning, police said.
Joliet police said 911 calls came in around 6:55 a.m., reporting gunfire near Cleveland and Dillman avenues and a shirtless male discharging a firearm near train tracks while running.
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Officers then responded to a home in the 700-block of Garnsey Avenue, on Joliet’s east side, police said.
There, officers found a 29-year-old man who had suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his ankle, police said.
Outside the home, officers found a 4-year-old boy and his mother, a 36-year-old woman, unresponsive near the backyard. Both victims suffered apparent gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on the scene.
Officers also found an unharmed 8-year-old boy, who has special needs, in a bedroom. The boy, who is also the 36-year-old woman’s child, was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
The 29-year-old man, who is considered a person of interest, is in custody at a local hospital. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but police said it appears that the person of interest and the victims had some kind of domestic relationship.
Police said the 29-year-old is believed to be a part-time resident of the home, and he is not believed to be the father of the two boys.
Police said those who live in the home had been there for about a month, but many people have been living there was not immediately clear.
Investigators also found a gun nearby that appears to match spent shell casings at the scene.
Joliet police asked anyone with information to call them at 815-724-3020. Anyone can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734 or online at https://crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/ if they wish to remain anonymous.
Further information was not immediately available.
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