Third Suspect Arrested in Aurora KFC Shooting

By Shannon Antinori (Patch Staff)

A third man is now being questioned by Aurora Police in connection with an attempted armed robbery at a KFC restaurant in which three people were shot Thursday night.

• Three Shot in Attempted Robbery at Aurora KFC: Police

The 45-year-old Chicago man was taken into custody without incident at around 10:25 a.m. at a motel in the 2300 block of North Farnsworth Avenue in Aurora, police said.

Charges have not been filed against him nor the two other men police have been questioning since last night. The other two suspects, ages 19 and 26 from Aurora, were taken into custody at a home in the 1100 block of Liberty Street about 15 minutes after the robbery.

Police said the robbery occurred at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when two suspects, one of whom was armed with a rifle, entered the establishment in the 1300 block of East New York Street, and announced the robbery. The suspects then ordered three male employees, ages 17, 19, and 24, to the front of the store and demanded money.

It was shortly after those demands were made that the armed suspect opened fire on the employees. The 17-year-old was struck in the leg, while the 19-year-old and 24-year-old were hit in the torso.

A fourth employee, a 36-year-old female, was able to hide in a closet during the robbery, police said. She was not injured. There were no customers in the store at the time of the incident.

After the shots were fired, the two men ran to a car that was parked in a nearby lot and fled without any money from the store. Police now believe that one of the men in custody acted as the getaway driver, police said.

Responding Aurora Police officers were on the scene within a matter of minutes and quickly developed information linking the 19- and 26-year-old suspects to the Liberty Street home, police said.

A 23-year-old Aurora woman was also taken into custody at that home for investigation into a crime not related to the KFC robbery, although she has yet to be charged, police said.

According to police, officers recovered a rifle they believe to be the one used in the crime early Friday afternoon at the home. They also have possession of the vehicle believed used in the commission of the offense.

On Friday, police said the conditions of the critically wounded 19- and 24-year-old employees have stabilized and they are expected to survive. They continue to receive treatment at Aurora hospitals.

The 17-year-old sustained a non-life-threatening wound to the leg and has been released from an Aurora hospital.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office is assisting Aurora Police in the ongoing investigation.