Teen, 17, dead after shooting at Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Facility
A 17-year-old male died Saturday after being shot by police at the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Facility on South Dirksen Parkway.
According to Springfield Police, officers responded to a call about 7:45 p.m., that a person had possibly shot an individual and was holding another hostage at the facility. Officers shot the armed suspect after encountering him at the entrance to the facility.
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The suspect, identified by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon as a 17-year-old male from Springfield, was taken by ambulance to HSHS St. John’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m.
Allmon did not release the identity of the teen but verified that his family had been contacted.
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday, Allmon said.
A second person suffered a gunshot wound and was treated and released, according to SPD.
The juvenile facility operates under the county's probation and court services department and is administered by Kent Holsopple.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said the facility was immediately placed on lockdown after the incident and remained that way Sunday.
Sheriff's deputies and correctional officers, including a K-9, were searching the facility, said Campbell, reached Sunday afternoon.
There were nine juveniles detained at the facility at the time of the incident, Campbell said. He did not have an immediate breakdown of males and females.
In emergency situations, any law enforcement agency can respond, Campbell added, which was why Springfield Police were first to arrive. Sheriff's deputies secured the area afterward, he said.
Illinois State Police was immediately called, Campbell said.
"That would have been the proper protocol, to get ISP involved in a situation like this," he said.
Jeff Wilhite, a spokesperson for Sangamon County, referred inquiries about the shooting to ISP.
ISP Trooper Haylie Polistina confirmed that the agency was handling the investigation but did not provide further details about the incident.
Campbell deferred questions about how the teen wound up with the weapon to the ISP.
SPD officers involved have been placed on restricted duty, per department policy, according to the SPD statement. It was not immediately known how many officers were involved.
The juvenile center shares space with Regional Office of Education #51. The building has more than 20,000 square feet of unused space which is getting a $5 million makeover with funds from the American Rescue Plan covering the cost.
In January, the city council signed off on the move of Helping Hands of Springfield, a 24/7, 365-day-a-year shelter, to the building around the New Year.
Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. was the lone vote against the move, saying he wanted his constituents to have a voice in the project.
Informed on Sunday of the shooting, Williams said: "This goes to show, is this a smart idea, what they're planning to do (there)?"
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: One person was shot to death at the Sangamon County Juvenile Center
