A person is in custody after allegedly firing a gunshot at the home of a far southwest suburban state lawmaker early Tuesday.
One shot was fired at the Shorewood home of Democratic state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, and three shots were fired at another home nearby, authorities said. No one was hurt.
Police were called at 4:50 a.m. after someone heard gunshots in a neighborhood of the village about 45 miles southwest of Chicago, according to a statement from Shorewood police.
Officers didn’t find anything, but another resident called two hours later after finding three bullet holes on the exterior of their house, apparently from a small-caliber weapon, police said.
Several hours later and a few blocks away, another homeowner found damage from a gunshot, police said. No one was hurt.
Neighborhood security videos helped detectives track down a suspect who was taken into custody later Tuesday, police said, adding that “there is no further threat from this person.”
Loughran Cappel issued a statement Wednesday saying her home was hit in the “deeply troubling incident.”
“My family and I are safe and I’m thankful that no one was hurt. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigation,” the third-term state senator said. “At times like these, I am reminded of how precious peace and safety are in our communities. Violence is never the answer.”
Police didn’t comment on a possible motive, and said the owners with property damage “are not known to each other, and have no common affiliations.”
The shooting happened less than a week after the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Gov. JB Pritzker has renewed his call for calm amid escalating political tension nationwide.
“The truth is that the number of threats and the number of people who seem to want to engage in political violence has increased substantially, and I would like very much for people to just take a breath, take a step back,” Pritzker said earlier this week. “Democracy is really the method by which we avoid political violence, and I think over the course of the history of the United States, that’s been what makes this country great.”