Two gunmen fired nearly 20 shots at a bar and a vehicle before fleeing the scene, prompting an hours-long major police manhunt on the border of Highwood and Lake Forest early Sunday morning.
The Highwood Police Department responded around 3 a.m. Sunday to Santi’s, 324 Green Bay Road in Highwood, for a report of shots fired.
Highwood Police Chief Dave Wentz said a bar fight occurred and two males retrieved firearms and started shooting.
Multiple bullet holes were found in a Jeep and a couple of bullet holes were found in the building.
Approximately 18 shell casings were recovered at the scene, Wentz said. No injuries were reported.
The suspects fled in a black Ford Explorer but the vehicle crashed in the construction zone near Old Elm Road and Sheridan Road on the border of Lake Forest and Highwood.
The driver of the vehicle called 911 to report he had been involved in a crash and remained at the scene, Wentz said.
Officers arrived and took him into custody in connection with the shooting. The second suspect fled on foot from the vehicle.
Wentz said the suspect was believed to have run down the train tracks near the Fort Sheridan Metra station along the Union Pacific North line. Trains were halted.
A large manhunt search began with drones and canine units being deployed.
The Highland Park Police Department, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Forest Police Department and Metra Police Department responded to assist.
Police conducted an exhaustive search effort that came to an end hours later around 8-9 a.m., Wentz said.
The second suspect was ultimately not located but Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Lux found two loaded handguns hidden beneath a tree.
The sheriff’s office said Lux tracked the fleeing suspect’s path for a significant distance.
“The recovery of those firearms was a significant development in the investigation. Had they not been found, they could have remained accessible to the offender or fallen into the wrong hands,” the sheriff’s office said.
Wentz said the suspect who remained at the crash scene was uncooperative with investigators and was released but arrest warrants are likely to come.