A gunman who fatally shot Lincoln Middle School Assistant Principal Nerissa Lee and another person turned the gun on himself outside the school in suburban Berwyn, officials said Wednesday.
The two victims, Lee, 46, and a 76-year-old woman, died of multiple gunshot wounds, and their deaths were ruled homicides, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office
Autopsies performed Wednesday determined Steven T. Lee, 54, died of a gunshot wound to his head and his death was ruled a suicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
Berwyn North School District 98 Supt. Michelle Smith also confirmed Nerissa Lee’s death in a message to the school district community.
“It is with great sadness that I announce to you that Nerissa Lee, Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School, lost her life in yesterday’s tragic shooting that occurred outside of Lincoln,” Smith said in the statement.
When reached Wednesday by a reporter, Nerissa Lee’s sister said she was overwhelmed and didn’t know if she could handle talking about her sister’s death yet.
“This is all too much for me,” Lee’s sister said.
The shooting happened about 4 p.m. Tuesday, with police responding to a call of shots fired. A man who was in a vehicle used a rifle to shoot into another vehicle before shooting himself, according to police. The man also shot at responding officers, who took cover but did not return fire, police said.
No students were hurt in the shooting, and police said they believe it was an isolated incident related to domestic violence.
“The impact of this loss is deeply felt not only within the school community but throughout Berwyn,” Berwyn police wrote in a statement. “Assistant Principal Lee was a dedicated educator and leader who touched the lives of countless students and staff members.”
Hailey Bedoy, a 16-year-old former student of Lee’s, said the school administrator had a personality “a lot teachers don’t have now,” meaning she was willing to laugh with students while also ensuring they focused on their work.
Bedoy took Lee’s STEM lab where students learned to code their own apps. She remembered Lee made talkative students sit next to her desk, though the teacher and student would always end up giggling anyways — and the school work would always end up getting done.
“She always had a bubbly personality,” Bedoy told the Sun-Times Wednesday. “She was very invested in her students. … She accomplished a lot, she lived her life and she was a really great human being. And that’s how she should be remembered.”
Bedoy plans to leave a candle and roses at the makeshift memorial for Lee that was created at the school after the shooting, and said she wants the school to hang her picture or make a more permanent remembrance.
Lincoln Middle School will resume classes Thursday and have counselors available, Smith said.
While she no longer attends the middle school, Bedoy said students there should have the rest of the week off to grieve, because she knows current students are struggling with the loss.
“They’re not making it as big of a deal as it should be,” Bedoy said. “Everyone is super devastated, we were really shocked. Why would anyone want to do that to her?”
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