NATALIA, TX – Authorities have announced an end to the manhunt for an armed suspect believed to be responsible for eight deaths over a two-day period in Joliet, Illinois. According to local law enforcement, 23-year-old Romeo Nance was located by U.S. Marshals near Natalia, Texas, where he is believed to have fatally shot himself following a confrontation with Texas-based law enforcement officials.
Nance had been under investigation for the shooting deaths of seven people across two separate residences within the 2200 block of West Acres Road in Joliet. According to investigators, five victims were found inside one residence, with two additional victims located at another nearby home.
All individuals had died as a result of gunshot wounds. Although the victims’ identities have not yet been officially released by the Will County Medical Examiner’s Office, local news reports indicate that one of the victims was a corrections officer at the Joliet Treatment Center.
The police confirmed that the two affected households were related and that Nance was acquainted with the victims. It is also believed that Nance was involved in two further shootings that took place in Unincorporated Joliet Township on Sunday.
These incidents left one man, identified as 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare, in critical condition from a gunshot wound to his head. Bakare later died from his injuries. A second male, aged 42, was also reportedly shot in the leg on Davis Street earlier on the same day. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Although the search for Nance is over, the investigation into these incidents continues. Investigations are attempting to piece together the events that led to this tragic series of events.