After a cross-country manhunt, a man suspected of killing eight people in Joliet, Illinois, committed suicide. Police are still looking for the cause of his death.
Romeo Nance, 23, passed away after being located by authorities in Texas, more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away.
Nance is believed to have killed eight people in various Joliet locations.
Two homes on the same street housed seven of the victims. Nance shot two more people, one of whom died, according to the police.
Nance had a lengthy criminal past and was connected to the majority of the seven individuals discovered dead in the two houses across the street from one another, according to Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans’ statement on Tuesday.
However, he claimed that the other two shootings were unplanned and that the investigation, which he described as “very complicated and active,” is still ongoing as the police look for a reason.
During a press conference, Mr. Evans stated, “We can’t get inside his head.” “We simply do not know why he did the things that he did.”
According to Mr. Evans, two men and five women were discovered in the residences.
Officials have identified a few of those victims. They are Joshua Nance, 31, Alexandria Nance, 20, William Esters, 35, Tamaeka Nance, 47, and Christine Esters, 38.
Two other victims, two teenage girls, ages 14 and 16, have not had their names made public.
Before killing two more people in Joliet, a city of about 150,000 people located 40 miles (64 km) south-west of Chicago, authorities believe Nance killed those seven people.
Toyosi Bakare, 28, was shot in the head during one of the attacks and died, according to the authorities, as he was leaving his apartment to buy cigarettes.
According to the police, Mr. Bakare came from Nigeria and had spent the previous three years residing in the US. After being brought to a nearby hospital, he passed away there.
An unidentified 42-year-old man who was shot in the leg on Sunday but whose injuries were not life-threatening was the other victim.
The victim can be seen speaking with the driver of a red Toyota Camry on camera as the car pulls away and then comes back before gunshots are heard.
The Camry’s license plate number was traced, according to the police, and this allowed them to find Nance and the two other victims’ homes.
Authorities warned the suspect that he “should be regarded as armed and dangerous” after this discovery, which led to a manhunt for him.
However, Nance had already left the region and fled south by then, according to the police.
At about 20:30 local time on Monday (02:30 GMT Tuesday), he was found by US Marshals near Natalia, Texas, just outside of San Antonio, and about eighteen hours away from Joliet by road.
According to the police, they don’t think he had any family or ties to Texas.
At a previous press conference in Joliet, Mr. Evans stated, “I’ve been a policeman for 29 years, and this is probably the worst crime scene I’ve ever been associated with.”