A woman has been charged with attempted murder after prosecutors say she opened fire, shooting a man and nearly wounding a 5-year-old child, outside an apartment building in Waukegan.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on May 25 to Lakeside Tower Apartments, 200 Julian Street in Waukegan, for a report of a person shot and shots fired.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Savannah Halcomb said officers interviewed multiple people and learned a physical altercation occurred outside of the apartment building between multiple people before gunshots were heard.
Officers obtained surveillance footage from the apartment complex, which showed a blue and a silver vehicle park in front of the building’s entrance.
The victim exited the silver vehicle. The victim and a female suspect, later determined to be the girlfriend of Jasmine C. Piggs, 27, of Waukegan, got into a verbal argument that escalated into a physical fight, Halcomb said.
Piggs went into the apartment complex and returned a short time later. She pulled out a gun and began shooting at the victim, Halcomb said.
Halcomb said Piggs fired multiple times and ran towards the victim as she fired. The victim ran towards her car and began driving away.
The victim’s boyfriend was struck twice in the arm by the gunfire, which left the car with multiple bullet holes.
Piggs, who lives at the apartment building, was positively identified by several others as the shooter, Halcomb said.
Evidence technicians recovered nine spent shell casings by the main entrance of the apartment complex.
The female victim’s car, a gray Hyundai Elantra, was examined and evidence technicians saw multiple bullet holes on the vehicle.
Halcomb said the Hyundai also had a shattered front passenger window and a bullet hole in the center windshield.
The female victim reported that her 5-year-old daughter was inside the car when Piggs opened fire.
There was a prior history of disagreements between the victim, Piggs and Piggs’ girlfriend.
“When the victim arrived at the apartment complex, the defendant and her girlfriend approached her. The victim told them her daughter was in the car and to leave her alone,” Halcomb said, adding that the verbal argument escalated into the physical fight and shooting.
“This defendant poses a real and present threat to this victim, and the community as a whole. The defendant chose to not only join a fight that her girlfriend had started, but to leave the altercation, retrieve a firearm, and fire it at the victim. There were other people between the defendant and the victim, and in the very close vicinity to the defendant when she fired,” Halcomb said.
Piggs was convicted of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2022 and is not allowed to possess firearms.
“And knowing this, the defendant chose to fire a gun in front of an apartment complex in a residential area. This defendant fired the firearm at least nine times, in the direction of the victim, the victim’s boyfriend, and the victim’s five year old child,” Halcomb said.
“This defendant’s actions show a clear disregard for human life, choosing to fire at the victim’s vehicle even after the victim told her that her child was with her in the car,” the prosecutor added.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Piggs in May charging her with attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony, and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony.
Last week on Monday, detectives assigned to the Zion Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit along with the Waukegan Police Department’s Community Crimes Division developed credible information that Piggs was inside an apartment in the 2100 block of Hebron Avenue in Zion with another man, who was wanted separately for murder.
The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System’s Emergency Services Team (NIPAS EST) was activated and was seen responding through Lake County to the residence.
NIPAS EST, along with detectives from the Waukegan Police Department’s Community Crimes Division, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Investigations Group, the Zion Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit and the Zion Police Department’s Tactical Response Team, converged on the residence near 21st Street and Hebron Avenue around 5 p.m.
Police worked to facilitate the surrender of Piggs and the second suspect and successfully took them into custody.
Additional search warrants resulted in the seizure of multiple firearms and firearm accessories at the apartment. Additional charges are pending.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Piggs pending trial, arguing she poses a danger to the community and there are no conditions that could mitigate the threat.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition and Piggs remains held in the Lake County Jail.
She is scheduled to appear in court again on August 19 for a preliminary hearing.