'It May Be Necessary To Raise A Defense Of Insanity,' Gunfire Hit Senator Meg Cappel's Shorewood House

SHOREWOOD, IL — A full year after two different Shorewood families who live a half mile away sustained bullet holes through their home during the middle of the night, the Hammond, Indiana woman charged with two crimes of aggravated discharge of a gun is now pursuing an insanity defense.

Joliet Patch has obtained the latest court filings in the criminal proceedings against Dana Thompson. Will County's prosecutors were successful in last year's SAFE-T-Act detention hearing to keep Thompson, now 33 years old, in the Will County Jail. She has remained there since Sept. 17, 2025.

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"She stated she traveled to Shorewood, Illinois, so she could kill her dad because he didn't provide proper health care for her grandmother," prosecutor Tricia McKenna outlined in last September's petition to deny pretrial release. "She advised, without being given these specifics of the case, that she only had four bullets in her gun and she used them all. She stated she used a Glock, but she should have used a shotgun. She knew her father's bedroom was on the second floor of his house but didn't know his exact address. Officers confirmed independently that defendant's father does live in this area."

Thompson's father was not at either of the homes that was hit by gunfire. One of the homes belonged to Democratic State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel.

At the Will County Courthouse, Thompson's defense is being led by Edward Jaquays on behalf of the Will County Public Defender's Office. He filed a four-page motion asking for a sanity evaluation in late August and on Wednesday, Will County Judge Amy Christiansen granted the request.

"The Defendant, Dana Thompson, has a history of suffering from mental health issues which include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe anxiety, unspecified psychosis, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, including past suicide attempts and suicidal ideation," the sanity evaluation motion states. "As to such previous diagnosis, the Defendant has previously received treatment and continues to be treated for same. That the Defendant's counsel has had opportunities to discuss this matter with the Defendant ... and the nature of the charged offenses and the potential outcomes as applied to same ... the Defendant, Dana Thompson, asserts that she has no memories or recollections regarding the dates surrounding the alleged incidents or even the alleged incidents occurring themselves."

The motion from the public defender goes on to explain how "the Defendant's counsel believes that a bonafide doubt exists as to the Defendant's fitness and ability to stand trial and/or assist in her defense. That based upon such discussions with the Defendant, Dana Thompson, Defense counsel believes that it may be necessary to raise a defense of insanity."

This week, Will County Judge Amy Christiansen in Courtroom 402 granted the public defender's motion seeking a qualified professional expert to examine Thompson as to her sanity and mental fitness to stand trial.

Judge Christiansen noted in her ruling that she has not made any determination or finding in regard to Thompson's mental health fitness to stand trial. Christiansen has scheduled Dec. 2 for reviewing the mental health fitness reports of Thompson.

Last September, Joliet Patch published another crime story on Thompson that ran with the following headline: "Shorewood House Shooting Defendant Tries Taking Gun From Sheriff's Deputy At Courthouse: Officials."

After Will County Judge Derek Ewanic ordered Thompson detained under the SAFE-T-Act, Thompson apparently tried to grab a service weapon belonging to one of the Will County Sheriff's deputies assigned to courthouse security. As a result, she was also charged with disarming a police officer.

According to last September's petition to deny pretrial release against Thompson, one witness saw a vehicle with a similar description leaving the area of the Shorewood shootings at a high rate of speed at the time of the shootings and later contacted Shorewood police. Police in Lansing, Illinois captured Thompson after she was driving a silver Dodge Journey. She was taken to the Shorewood Police Department and interviewed for the shootings on Northgate Drive and Bethany Drive, a half-mile away.

According to the Shorewood police search of Thompson's vehicle, a "piece of paper was located which appeared similar to the one the defendant received in the gas station video in Peru, Illinois, before the shootings. That piece of paper contained directions to Shorewood from that location and has been recovered and placed into evidence," prosecutor Tricia McKenna revealed in court records.