A suspect is in custody following a SWAT standoff in Round Lake after a 77-year-old man was shot to death inside his own apartment in Fox Lake Monday evening.
The Fox Lake Police Department responded around 9:35 p.m. Monday to the 0-100 block of Mineola Road in Fox Lake for a report of shots fired.
Officers arrived and located a 77-year-old man, who lived at the residence, with an apparent gunshot wound, according to Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli.
The man was deceased upon the arrival of the responding officers.
The person who called 911 informed dispatchers that a man and woman entered a minivan and fled from the scene following the shooting.
A regional police broadcast was issued to local law enforcement to advise of the incident and the description of the individuals and vehicle that fled from the scene.
The Fox Lake Police Department requested the assistance of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
Covelli said a preliminary investigation shows the victim invited the woman over to his home.
While she was at his residence, the man entered and shot the victim. The woman and the man then fled in the minivan.
The Round Lake Police Department responded to an unrelated call a short time later in the 300 block of Lunar Drive in Round Lake.
The officers saw a minivan and recognized the description from the regional alert issued by the Fox Lake Police Department.
Officers were familiar with the man who normally drives the minivan and knew he lived at a residence in the 300 block of Lunar Drive, Covelli said.
Police officers established a perimeter around his residence.
Police requested the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) to assist in apprehending the man.
Just prior to NIPAS deploying, the man exited the residence and surrendered to officers.
The man is in custody and being interviewed by task force investigators. He has not been publicly identified yet.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office is in the process of scheduling an autopsy on the shooting victim.
Covelli said the incident appears to be targeted and “there is no known threat to the surrounding community.”
The homicide remains under investigation by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and Fox Lake Police Department.