All residents of an Illinois town were told to “stay in their homes and lock all doors” as travelers were urged to avoid the area due to “an active situation” that unfolded across multiple crime scenes.
Around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the Hull Kinderhook Fire Protection District urged people to avoid traveling through New Canton, Illinois, located a little over 80 miles west of Springfield, “until it is deemed safe.”
The department told all residents to stay inside and lock their doors, but offered no further information on the unfolding situation.
The Pike County Sheriff’s Department said it was responding to the scene just after 9 a.m. Thursday.
“Officers are in the area and actively working to bring this matter to a safe resolution. We ask [residents] to remain indoors until further updates are provided. We appreciate your cooperation,” the department wrote on social media.
The Western School District 12 said it was on a soft lockdown as of 10:30 a.m. That lockdown was lifted just before 12:30 p.m.
Similarly, Pikeland School District 10 said it was informed that the “threat from the community no longer exists, and we are returning to regular movement in all of our schools.”
Police later said a preliminary investigation found a woman called 911 to say she had been shot by her husband.
Chief Deputy Zack Orr with the Pike County Sheriff’s Department said the woman told officers the gunman “made threatening remarks to harm her parents,” who also live in New Canton.
“Upon arrival, deputies did a welfare check. We entered the home and located both parents deceased in the residence,” Orr said. “So we have two deceased at one residence and one shot at another.”
The suspected gunman was later found dead in his home. He was identified as 67-year-old Gerald E. Waligorski.
“I’ve worked for this county for 26 years and can count on two hands the number of violent crimes we’ve had,” Orr said. “It’s a shocking incident, and I think it shocks everybody.”
Police said a motive for the shooting had not yet been uncovered.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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