Will County sheriff’s deputies say they have arrested a “prime suspect” in a Halloween mass shooting in Joliet Township that killed two young adults and wounded nine other people.
The 18-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on an unrelated warrant at a home in Joliet, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.
The Sun-Times is withholding his name because he has not been charged in the mass shooting last Sunday, when two gunmen opened fire into a crowd of 200 people, killing Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22.
Police had been called at least three times for noise complaints at the party in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street, but a deputy in the area had not tried to disperse the crowd. The gunmen allegedly fired from an elevated porch near a DJ booth.
Police have said the shooting may have been gang-related. Word of the party had spread on social media and many uninvited guests had arrived. The murder victims and party hosts had no gang connections, police have said.
The 18-year-old faces unrelated charges for gun possession, obstruction of justice and illegal possession of ammunition, the sheriff’s office said. He was ordered held on $1 million bond at Will County Jail.
Deputies showed up at the suspect’s home Wednesday morning in the 900 block of Gael Drive and forced their way inside, the sheriff’s office said. The teen was arrested inside and a 9mm Glock handgun was allegedly found discarded on the first-floor roof.
The second suspected shooter is still at large.
