
The alleged gunman accused of shooting his wife and another man, seriously injuring them, in a Waukegan packaging plant parking lot has been captured in New Mexico.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 11:14 p.m. May 24 to Bolke Miller Company, 1350 Bridge Drive in Waukegan, for a shooting.
Officers located two gunshot victims who were seriously wounded in the parking lot, according to fire department radio traffic.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said a 42-year-old Zion woman had been shot in the stomach.
A 25-year-old North Chicago man had been shot in the chest.
A vehicle belonging to the female victim had a bullet hole in the windshield.
Both victims were transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Chastain said the shooting appeared to be domestic-related and investigators identified the gunman as the female victim’s husband.
The suspect, Tomas Tapia, 42, of Zion, allegedly fled the scene but his vehicle was located unoccupied a short time later in Waukegan.
An arrest warrant was obtained the next day for Tapia charging him with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
The female victim and Tapia are currently separated, Chastain said. The motive for the shooting was not released.
Police said Tapia should be considered armed and dangerous.
Chastain said in an update Friday that investigators learned Tapia traveled out of Waukegan Thursday heading south with an unknown companion.
Tapia approached law enforcement in New Mexico and advised them that he was wanted in connection with the Waukegan shooting.
Law enforcement officials in New Mexico confirmed Tapia had an active arrest warrant and took him into custody.
Tapia was transported to the Lincoln County Jail in New Mexico where he awaits extradition back to Illinois.