DIXON – Three police officers were shot Wednesday while responding to a call at a residence in northern Illinois, and the suspect was also wounded, authorities reported.
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said officers were responding to a report that someone inside a home in the Lost Lake community near Dixon was threatening to kill themselves or others. He stated that the suspect was also shot. He gave no further information about himself, including his name, age or place of residence.
VanVickle said a family member called police shortly after 8:30 a.m. to report threats from a person in the home. He indicated that the negotiators tried to contact that person by telephone, and finally made the decision to enter the place shortly before noon.
“Immediately after entering the house, our agents were greeted with gunfire from inside,†he stated.
VanVickle initially tried to walk away from reporters after giving his statement, but when questions were shouted at him, he responded that all of the injured were “in good condition.”
A spokesperson for Dixon's Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital said three people were taken to the emergency room, two of whom were treated and released. The spokesperson did not disclose the health status of the third person.
The Illinois State Police will be leading the investigation into the shooting, VanVickle added.
Ambulances and two medical helicopters were called to the scene in the community of Lost Lake, near Dixon, where there was also a massive police presence, according to a post on the Winnebago Boone & Ogle Facebook page. County Fire/Ems Incidents.
A spokesman for Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon said three people were taken to the medical center's emergency unit.
Local media outlets on Wednesday afternoon showed aerial images of law enforcement cars and private individuals parked on the shoulder of the neighborhood's unpaved roads and of officers occasionally gathering in small groups. groups, but with little activity. Yellow police tape blocked at least one driveway and an Ogle Police mobile command center was parked at the end of the road.
The Lost Lake homeowners association describes the area as a “country-style community†with about 700 homeowners in an unincorporated area near the cities of Dixon, Franklin Grove and Oregon, about 105 miles (168 kilometers) away. west of Chicago.
