A Texas man suspected of fatally shooting eight people at three locations in the Chicago suburbs shot himself after a “standoff” with police, authorities said.
Police in Joliet, Illinois, said 23-year-old Romeo Nance was found by U.S. marshals near Natalia, Texas, on Monday night, and that “at the time, Nance was believed to have shot himself with a handgun after a confrontation with the State of Texas.” “There is,” he announced. Law Enforcement Officials.”
Police previously announced that Nance is a suspect in the murders of eight acquaintances whose bodies were found in three separate locations on Sunday and Monday.
Officials said the first known victim of the eight was a man whose body was found shot to death in Joliet Township Sunday afternoon. Police said the man was identified only as a 28-year-old man from Nigeria who had lived in the United States for about three years.
Following the investigation into the shooting, officers searched for Nance, the registered owner of the suspected getaway vehicle, at an unknown location in the nearby city of Joliet, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. They held a stakeout overnight at the last known address.
On Monday morning, officers saw blood stains outside a vacation home across the street from Nance's address and found two people shot to death inside. Police later entered Nance's residence and discovered five more bodies there, bringing the total number of deaths at the three murder scenes to eight.
“I've been a police officer for 29 years, and this is probably the worst crime scene I've ever been involved with,” Evans said Monday night at a news conference outside his Joliet home.
Will County Chief Deputy Dan Jungles said at a news conference there was no indication yet how long the people in the home had been dead. He said an autopsy is underway.
Evans said the victims found Monday at the residence were family members. Asked if the victims were family members of the suspect, Jungles said he could not comment other than to say the suspect knew them.
Teresa Smart, who lives about a block away from where seven of the victims were found, said she was worried she and her family wouldn't be able to sleep Monday night. .
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“This is too close to home,” she said, adding that police cars were blocking roads throughout the neighborhood.
“I’m constantly looking out the window and double-checking the door,” she said. “It's super scary.”
Reuters contributed to this report
