Romeoville Shooting
If you
didn’t hear; Last Thursday, February 13, a mother and daughter were shot in
their car by the 15 year old girl’s ex-boyfriend.
Original Story: Mother, daughter shot in Romeoville; 4 questioned
Update here
The question
rises now, why did he do this? What made this guy go to his ex-girlfriend’s
house to shoot her and her mother? Could the girl have done anything that was
bad enough to her ex-boyfriend that she deserved to die? The violent acts that
we have discussed in class weren’t local to us, but this act occurred just a
little over 2 miles away from our campus. Another thing we’ve discussed in class
in how LU would handle a potential threat like this. Below is the email that was
sent to all students and faculty in light of the incident. Do you think this was
a good way to alert everyone and attempt to keep everyone safe? In my case I
just happened to check my email before I left, but otherwise probably wouldn’t
have seen it.
Good
Morning:
The Romeoville
Police Department is currently investigating a shooting in the area of
135th Street and Hickory. Schools in the immediate area
have been placed on a “soft” lock-down. Several news agencies are running
stories on the incident.
This incident
poses no apparent threat to Lewis University community. Drivers are encouraged
to avoid the area until the incident is resolved.
We will keep
you updated with any new information.
Sincerely,
Deputy
Chief of Police
Lewis
University
One
University Parkway
Romeoville, IL 60446
Question 1:
What’s the most shocking part of this incident? And why do you think the girl’s
ex-boyfriend committed this act of violence.
Question 2: Had
the incident become a threat to LU, did the LUPD do enough? If not, what more
should they have done?
WOW - I remember getting the email alert, and thinking, "Oh, not again." The last I heard was that parents weren't supposed to send their kids to school, though I hadn't kept up with the story after that. All too often, people with violent tendencies (or even arrest records) get ahold of a weapon and act in the heat of the moment - though it sounds like he specifically targeted these 2 women in a premeditated manner. I'm pretty surprised the 15-year-old's mom allowed her to date a 23-year-old. In Illinois, that's illegal, even with the parent's consent.
ReplyDeleteAs to what more the LUPD could have done, I'm not sure. I think they did the best they could with the information they had - if there were any reason to think the gunman was heading toward campus, I'm sure there would have been additional procedures. That brief message did scare the hell out of me, though.
I agree with Dr. Rendel in saying that the most questionable and shocking part in this story is the age discrepancy between the victim and the gunman, who were a former couple. It is just shocking to think that the victim's parents would allow this relationship to take place between a man and a teenage girl with an 8 year age separation. I would speculate that the violence occurred due to a tumultuous end to the relationship that left the ex-boyfriend unsatisfied.
ReplyDeleteThe situation was really out of LUPD's control. They did a good job of alerting us of the situation but in the end this shooting was in the hands of the Romeoville Police Department and it seems as if they have done their job.
I agree also with Dr. Rendel and Brett, Why the hell is a 23 year old dating a 15 year old!!! That is insane to me, why would a mother even allow that? Someone had to realize because of the age difference something was going to go wrong some where. Maybe no one saw a shooting as the problem; however, they had to know something was up in this type of relationship.
ReplyDeleteThere was really nothing Lewis Police could have done about this situation. They told everyone what was going on, and make people aware. I think they did the right thing by putting the school on soft lock down, and having their guards up
the first thing i guess id comment on which is sort of unrelated to the real issue, age of a relationship. when a 23 and a 15 yr old date its wrong but say move that 40 yrs in the future to a 73 yr old and 55 yr old no one seems to have an issue about it. Age and relationships has always made me think about why people think the way they do.
ReplyDeleteto get on topic and to answer the questions addressed
1 the most shocking part to me is obviously the murder. I think he may have been a twisted individual with a dark history and something unrelated may have thrown him over the edge.
2 I think LUPD did a good job with what they had. maybe a phone call would have been more efficent. like you said most people do not read their emails in the morning on their way to school. but it was good enough for the "soft" situation.
what does that even mean?! "soft" lockdown....
I remember going to school that morning and seeing all the police cars not knowing what happened until I had gotten home. Granted the age factor was surprising, but I couldn’t believe there was a shooting in Romeoville ! I’ve lived out here my whole life and nothing like this has ever happened before. The most news worthy event was when Lukancic middle school caught on fire when I was in the 5th grade. A shooting in this little village was unprecedented to my knowledge. Before all the information came in it seemed random and panic spread through anyone who knew of the event. When I found out it was a targeted event, sad to say, but I felt relieved. I was very uneasy and didn’t want to leave or even open my door until I knew the man was caught. Sadly though both the mother and the daughter suffered severe injuries. Age differences only seem relevant when one of the people is under 20. After that no one seems to care anymore unless it’s a 20 year difference.
ReplyDeleteI remember waking up that morning and being told about the shooting. Im not going to lie,I was so close to calling my mom so she can pick me up (because i lived on campus). I think the most shocking thing is that he even went back to her house to shoot her. There is nothing you can do that is so terrible for someone to have no choice but to shoot you. Dont get me wrong, i think the age difference was weird but its becoming alot more common these day. I dont think this was a situation for the LUPD, honestly but what they do for us was helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe most shocking part of this article for me was that something so horrible happened so close to where I go to school. I'm from an area where violence doesn't happen often, so to be so close to something such as this is a little shocking. Unfortunately, I cannot say what caused the ex boyfriend to snap the way that he did. I would just be making things up and spreading things around that weren't true. That's not the kind of person that I am. I want the facts before I start making assumptions about a person.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that LUPD did enough to notify the Lewis community. I know the only reason people got the email was because they went into their emails to see what was new. The only reason I go into my email box is because it is on my phone, but it doesn't notify me when I have a new email so I have to go in and update it myself. I feel that any email that Lewis sends out shouldn't be an email. I feel that the Lewis community would better respond to text messages being sent out. Everyone has a cell phone now a days, and the fastest way to get a hold of them besides calling is to text them. I feel that would have been more efficient in the long run, especially for the commuter students.