Police said on Monday that 150 to 200 people attended the Halloween house party in Lake Forest where a man was shot to death early Sunday morning.
The Lake Forest Police Department was called at 12:05 a.m. Sunday to the 1300 block of West Estate Lane East in Lake Forest for a report of shots fired. Lake Forest police officers, who were already in the area when the shooting happened, found numerous people running from the large Halloween house party, authorities said.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said that Lake Forest police officers then found Shaft D. Wilson Jr., 19, of the 1600 block of Argonne Drive in North Chicago, dead with a gunshot wound outside of the house.
Authorities said that an argument ensued between several partygoers and during the argument someone pulled a gun and began shooting.
Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper confirmed Monday during an autopsy that Wilson’s death was a homicide due to gunfire. Toxicology results are still pending.
“Lake County Major Crime Investigators and Lake Forest Police Detectives continue to make progress in the investigation. Preliminary investigation shows there was a large house party at the home,” Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said in a statement.
Covelli said that authorities estimate there were around 150 to 200 people at the party, which was promoted on social media and brought in people from the southern Wisconsin and northeast Illinois area. Authorities said that the homeowners had not been living in the residence; however, over the last several months the home had been occupied by an adult relative of the homeowners.
Investigators determined the party was organized and promoted by an acquaintance of the adult relative who was living in the home.
Police also said that a 20-year-old Waukegan woman was injured during the shooting after being stepped on by partygoers running from the scene. She was treated at the hospital and released.
The shooting is not believed to be random, and there is no threat to the community, police officials said. No suspects are in custody as of Monday.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the Lake Forest Police Department are investigating the shooting. Anyone with information should call Lake Forest Police Department at 847-810-3818 or Lake County CrimeStoppers at 847-662-2222.