A man suspected of shooting dead eight people over two days in the suburbs of Chicago turned the gun on himself when confronted by law enforcement officials in Texas on Monday night.
Romeo Nance, 23, shot and killed himself around 8:30 p.m. Central time after US Marshals near Natalia, Texas, confronted him, Joliet, Illinois, police said.
It’s unclear how Nance got from Illinois to Texas with local police and the FBI’s fugitive task force on the lookout.
He is accused of killing eight people at three separate scenes discovered Sunday and Monday, terrifying residents of the Chicago suburb of Joliet as police launched a frantic, hours-long manhunt for the alleged murderer who they said should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
Police stressed that the victims and suspect knew each other, though they did not reveal a motive for the shootings.
The victims were found Sunday and Monday at three separate locations. Joliet Police DepartmentThe first victim, identified as 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare, was shot in the head inside a private home in Will County on Sunday, Will County Deputy Sheriff Dan Jungles said.
The Nigerian native was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Police identified Nance as a suspect in that shooting and went to his last known address as well as a house across the street, finding grisly scenes at both.
A man shot and killed eight people at three locations since Sunday in the Chicago suburbs and went on the run. AP
Romeo Nance was sought by the Joliet Police Department as a suspect in the shooting deaths of seven people in two homes. REUTERSCops found two bodies at one house and five at the other on Monday.
Some of the victims — who have not yet been named — were relatives, police said.
They would not confirm or deny whether Nance was related to any of the victims.
It’s unclear how long the seven victims had been dead, but a medical examiner will perform autopsies to determine that and their cause of death.
Authorities said they also believe another shooting in Joliet that wounded a man on Sunday is connected to the string of violence. Joliet Police Department“I’ve been a policeman 29 years and this is probably the worst crime scene I’ve ever been associated with,” Joliet Police Chief William Evans said during a news conference outside the Joliet homes Monday evening.
Investigators also believe Nance could be responsible for another shooting on Sunday — in which the 42-year-old victim survived a gunshot wound to the leg, NBC 5 Chicago reported.
With Post wires
