Illinois shooting 5 dead: Authorities said that a man died in a shootout with police after allegedly shooting five people dead in a small Illinois town.
Five people, including two children, were shot and killed early on Wednesday in an apartment in Manchester, Ill., reported KSDK-TV.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the victims also included a grandmother and two young parents. The suspect was identified as 43-year-old Rick Smith by neighbors, who said that he was undergoing a custody battle and under “a lot of stress.”
Investigators told the station that the suspect was found in a car around 7:15 a.m. in a vehicle before he fired at police before he was taken into custody.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he died after sustaining injuries in the gun battle.
“The guy broke into the house,” Brad Teeter, a relative of the family, told the Tribune. “I couldn’t tell you about the guy, never met him, never seen him, never talked to him. He apparently broke into the home of my wife’s mother and shot everybody inside.”
“I’m at a loss right now,” he said.
And officials said that there is “no reason to believe there are any other suspects at this time,” according to Fox.
In a brief statement to reporters, state Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby declined to provide any information on the victims or how they were killed. Kilby said the suspect, who had several weapons, was pronounced dead at a hospital after a police chase and exchange of gunfire.
He did not identify the suspect or describe the relationship between the suspect and the victims, and he declined to speculate on a possible motive for the killings. He refused to take questions.
A 6-year-old girl was wounded and taken to a hospital in Springfield, Kilby said.
Manchester is a Scotts County community of about 300 some 50 miles west of Springfield.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
