A gunman who killed five people, including two children, in the US state of Illinois has died in hospital following a high-speed chase and shootout with police.
Authorities declined to name the suspect, but relatives and
neighbors identified him as 43-year-old Rick Smith from Roodhouse,
Illinois. Smith was the nephew of Manchester, Illinois mayor Ronald
Drake, who confirmed to the Associated Press that the two were
related before claiming they hadn't spoken in two
years.
"The guy broke into the house. I couldn't tell you about the
guy, never met him, never seen him, never talked to him. He
apparently broke into the home of my wife's mother and shot
everybody inside. I'm at a loss right now," relative Brad
Teeter told the Chicago Tribune.
The suspect exchanged shots with police after his white Chevy
Lumina was pulled over, according to state police. He was wounded
and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities said they recovered several weapons from his
possession.
State police refused to comment on a possible motive. However, a neighbor said that Smith had been going through a custody battle with the mother of his 4-year-old daughter. The mother was related to some of the victims, but was not harmed in the incident.
"I know there was a lot of friction with [the mother's] family," the neighbor said.
A five-year-old boy and a one-year-old boy were fatally shot,
along with three adults.
A 6-year-old child was also shot during the incident, and is
currently in serious condition at a Springfield, Illinois hospital.
Illinois State Police Lt. Todd Kilby told reporters that after
Smith shot the rest of the family at close range he "took the
six-year-old out of the residence and put her in the hands of a
neighbor."
The murders happened inside a single-story public housing
complex, and prompted many nearby schools to go on
lockdown.
Manchester, a town of around 300 people, is located 85 miles north of St. Louis.