Authorities in Joliet and Will County released a timeline and new details Tuesday afternoon. Latest updates and story here.
JOLIET, Ill. — Police continued to investigate Tuesday morning the string of attacks that left eight people dead and one injured over two days in Joliet and Will County, ending in Texas when the alleged suspect killed himself.
A manhunt ended around 8:30 p.m. Monday when a suspect connected to the attacks died by suicide during a confrontation with U.S. Marshals and law enforcement in Natalia, Texas — a small town of about 1,200 people just outside San Antonio.
Authorities said Romeo Nance, 23, was wanted in connection with the attacks that left seven people dead Monday inside two homes across the street from each other in the 2200 block of West Acres Road in Joliet. The Will County Sheriff’s Office also connected Nance to two seemingly random shootings on Sunday in Will County that left one man dead and another injured.
Early Tuesday morning, police still had West Acres Road blocked off as they continued their investigation into why nine people, including the alleged suspect, wound up dead in the grisly crime. Authorities had not yet been able to establish a motive for the killings.
“I’ve been a policeman 29 years. This is probably the worst crime scene I’ve ever been associated with,” Joliet Police Department Chief Bill Evans said.
Five people were found dead in one home Monday in Joliet, and two people were found dead in another home across the street. Police say the people found dead in both homes were all related to each other.
One of the homes was the last known address for Nance, though it is not clear if he was related to the victims.
Will County sheriff’s deputies had been keeping an eye on Nance’s house overnight Sunday into Monday, because his car was allegedly spotted at each of Sunday’s shooting scenes. When he never came home, deputies grew suspicious and started knocking on the door.
After approaching the home just before noon Monday, authorities discovered blood and went inside. That’s when they found the victims.
Will County deputies were previously called around 4:30 p.m. Sunday to an apartment complex off Pheasant Run Road in unincorporated Joliet Township, where they found a man bleeding from the head due to an apparent gunshot wound. He later died.
The victim was later identified as Toyosi Bakare, 28, who was originally from Nigeria and had been living in the U.S. for about three years.
According to deputies, about 10 minutes before that fatal shooting, a 42-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 200 block of Davis Street in Joliet and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Right after Joliet police announced Monday’s shooting deaths, they said they were searching for Nance, who was believed to be driving a red Toyota Camry. Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Joliet police found out that Nance had been spotted by U.S. Marshals in Natalia, Texas, saying they were told he was found in his car at a Valero gas station.
“Our hearts go out to the victims’ families of this heinous crime,” Evans said. “We will do everything in our power here at the Joliet Police Department to bring the person responsible for this to justice.”
When asked Monday if FBI special agents are assisting with the investigations, a spokesperson said that while they do assist local partners with investigations, they were unable to confirm or deny any involvement, per Department of Justice policy. During Monday’s press conference, however, Joliet police said the FBI was assisting.
Suspect’s prior criminal history
WGN Investigates found court records on Nance showing he was out of jail on a $10,000 bond from a 2023 case in which he was accused of shooting at a woman.
According to Patchand court records, Nance was charged after he tried to shoot a woman multiple times on Ingalls Avenue and at a home in the 1300 block of Brentwood Place in Joliet. Police found Nance near his home in the 220 block of West Acres Road and arrested him after a brief struggle with officers.
Nance was charged as part ofOperation New Year’s Resolution with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm. He was released after posting $10,000 of a $100,000 bond.
Nance’s attorney had asked the court to further reduce his bond, but the prosecutors opposed. The judge denied the bond reduction, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
That case has yet to go to trial.
Neighbors react
Residents in the area are shaken up and heartbroken as they search for answers on the shocking crime spree. They were still waiting Tuesday morning for the identities of the seven people killed on West Acres Road to be released.
“It’s just shocking,” area resident Rachel Carr said. “I’m concerned, like, ‘Do I know anybody?'”
Said area resident Laura Bane: “The whole neighborhood is just reeling and praying for families, obviously that lost someone.
“… There’s a park right down the street. It’s crazy that there are young kids that get off the bus right here and that there are two houses that have fatalities, and that somebody was responsible for that.”
