Man, 19, Dies In 'Senseless Act Of Violence': Will County Sheriff

JOLIET TOWNSHIP, IL — A 19-year-old man died of his injuries after he was shot while sitting in a vehicle in Joliet Township's Preston Heights neighborhood, the Will County Sheriff's Office said Thursday morning.

The man's name is being withheld pending the completion of an autopsy, officials said, calling the killing "a senseless act of violence."

Officials advised residents to stay inside their homes in the wake of the shooting, and officials are asking residents for surveillance camera footage taken in the area between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to a news release from the sheriff's office, deputies responded at 3:45 p.m. to a report of a victim shot while inside a vehicle near Luana Road and Girard Boulevard.

Police said that after he was shot, the 19-year-old drove his vehicle down the street before getting out of it in the 100 block of Girard. Deputies found him lying in the road outside his vehicle and rendered aid until the East Joliet Fire Department arrived and took over life-saving measures.

The 19-year-old was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, but later died.

According to the sheriff's office, witnesses said the suspect or suspects ran west on Luana away from the scene.

Crime scene investigators and sheriff's detectives arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation, and at around 6:29 p.m., a reverse 911 call went out to Preston Heights area residents advising them to stay inside their homes.

Residents were also told to call 911 if they saw anyone suspicious running in the area, the sheriff's office said.

Officials said it is clear "that this shooting was an isolated targeted attack," and there was a heavy police presence in the Preston Heights area of unincorporated Joliet Wednesday night.

Police were doing a canvass of the neighborhood and were seeking the public's help obtaining surveillance camera footage of the area taken between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Residents are asked to contact the Detective Danielle Strohm at 815-727-8574 at extension 4930 or at dstrohm@willcosheriff.org if they have any information or surveillance videos.