Shooting on a normally tranquil McHenry County block that left 4 dead and 1 hurt ‘really out of character,’ neighbors say
Four people were dead and one injured after a shooting in unincorporated Crystal Lake early Wednesday morning, according to the McHenry County sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded to a call in the 5800 block of Wild Plum Road at 3:56 a.m. after hearing that a family member was shooting relatives.
Three females were found dead, and a male and a female were seriously injured at the time.
The person believed to be the aggressor was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The person who called authorities was also taken to the hospital with “serious injuries.” There is no update yet about that person’s status.
The McHenry County coroner’s office is also involved in the investigation.
“We are still in the very early stages of the investigation and are currently processing the scene. Until the Coroner’s Office is done examining the victims, we will not be releasing information regarding their fatal injuries nor the type of weapon used,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
This is an isolated incident with no threat to the public, the statement said.
McHenry County sheriff’s deputies blocked the circular end of Wild Plum Road where the shooting occurred Wednesday. In the late afternoon, a funeral home car pulled in and out of the closed street as authorities investigated. News satellite trucks parked near the sheriff’s police squad cars.
Lightly rolling hills of well-maintained grass and pine trees fill the quiet neighborhood where shots erupted at one of the many matching homes with beige siding. The few people working in garages, chatting in driveways or walking there in the evening shared shock and disbelief.
Charlie Ayers had just finished fixing a busted lock at the tennis courts when he walked past the sheriff deputies’ line. The neighborhood is full of young families and older people who get along and care for the space, said Ayers, the homeowners association’s treasurer.
“We really look after each other. So, for this to happen is really out of character,” he said.
Ayers, like other neighbors, said he had never seen anything out of the ordinary at the house where the shooting occurred.
“I was shocked. I was very shocked. I was saddened,” Ayers said. “Tell people who you care about how you feel about them. It can always happen in your own backyard when you least expect it.”
Tanya Lee learned about the shooting when a neighbor who lived close to the home where it occurred called in the morning, she said.
“I was scared. I didn’t know what really was going on. I had to make sure all my kids were home,” Lee said, as she stood in her driveway.
She recalled seeing an older woman who lived at the home on walks. The neighbors Lee has spoken with are sad and upset, she said.
Lee has lived in the “quiet, friendly” neighborhood for 10 years, she said. People help one another out, and the schools are good, she added.
“Stuff like this doesn’t happen,” Lee said.
Betsy Brennan walked with her husband and her 13-year-old golden retriever, Sophie, down the street. They walk the neighborhood every day, she said.
“It’s the kind of place where we know our neighbors, but nobody gets in each other’s business,” she said. “Everybody’s very friendly, very welcoming.”
She said she was thinking about the surviving victims and their family.
“It’s very, very eerie. Just the thought that while I’m sleeping, 300 yards away, this all took place,” she said.
