70-year-old man guns down neighbor in ‘racially motivated’ shooting, IL officials say

A 70-year-old Illinois man is accused of gunning down his neighbor in a “racially motivated” attack, then barricading himself in his home, authorities say.

At about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, a Lockport Township neighborhood erupted in gunfire, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Witnesses called 911 and watched as John P. Shadbar, armed with a rifle, fired shot after shot at his 45-year-old neighbor — sending “dozens of rounds of ammunition” flying from several different vantage points outside, according to deputies.

The woman, whom officials have not publicly identified, was critically wounded after she was shot once in the chest. The bullet pierced through her torso and went out the back, and she also was shot in her hand, deputies said.

Investigators believe the shooting was “racially motivated.”

Shadbar had made “racially insensitive statements” to the woman’s biracial children in the past and even threatened to kill them, the sheriff’s office told WLS. Neighbors said they were aware of the bad blood between them but didn’t expect violence.

“I never thought it would go this far, never did,” neighbor David Dempsky told the station.

Shadbar retreated to his home after the shooting and barricaded himself inside, officials said.

Deputies gathered outside, a crisis negotiator was brought in, and Shadbar eventually surrendered, authorities said. He was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, deputies said. Additional charges will likely follow, deputies said.

The neighbor was taken to a hospital in critical condition but has since undergone surgery and is recovering, deputies said.

Lockport is a roughly 35-mile drive southwest of Chicago.

This story was originally published May 9, 2024 at 9:21 AM with the headline "70-year-old man guns down neighbor in ‘racially motivated’ shooting, IL officials say."