Suspect in shooting of 3 deputies in Illinois had multiple firearms, sheriff says

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A man accused of shooting and wounding three sheriff's deputies during a standoff at a home in northern Illinois had multiple firearms in his possession, authorities said.

A fixed-blade knife, pepper spray and ballistic armor also were found following Wednesday's shooting in the Lost Lake community near Dixon, the Ogle County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The office released the man's identity, but The Associated Press isn't naming him because he has yet to be charged. He has undergone surgery at an area hospital. The nature of his wounds were not disclosed.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said the deputies were responding to a call from the homeowner that “her adult son was having suicidal and homicidal ideations.” He said negotiators tried to reach the man by phone and decided to go inside shortly before noon.

“Immediately upon entering the house, our deputies received fire from inside the house,” VanVickle said.

One member of a sheriff’s special response team was shot in the face. Another suffered a gunshot wound to an upper arm, while the third was shot in body armor, VanVickle said in the statement.

The suspect and the weapons were found inside the front door.

A spokesperson at Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon said Wednesday that three people were taken to the hospital’s emergency department, two of whom were treated and released. The spokesperson did not release the condition of the third person. One of the deputies underwent surgery after being flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Rockford, according to VanVickle.

The Illinois State Police is investigating the shooting, VanVickle added.

Lost Lake’s property owner’s association describes the area as a “country style community” with about 700 owners in an unincorporated area close to the cities of Dixon, Franklin Grove and Oregon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Chicago.