DIXON, Ill. — A man is accused of shooting and wounding three deputies during a standoff at a home in northern Illinois had several firearms in his possession, authorities said.
A fixed-blade knife, pepper spray and ballistic armor were also found after the shooting Wednesday in the Lost Lake community near Dixon, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The office has released the man’s identity, but The Associated Press is not naming him because he has yet to be charged. He underwent surgery at an area hospital. The nature of his injuries was not disclosed.
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said deputies responded to a call from the homeowner that “her adult son was having suicidal and homicidal thoughts.” He said negotiators tried to reach the man by phone and decided to go in shortly before noon.
“Immediately we entered the home, our deputies received fire from the inside,” VanVickle said.
One member of a sheriff’s special response team was shot in the face. Another suffered a gunshot wound to an upper arm, while the third was shot while wearing body armor, VanVickle said in the statement.
The suspect and weapons were found inside the front door.
A spokesperson for Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon said Wednesday that three people were taken to the hospital’s emergency department, two of whom were treated and released. The spokesperson did not release the condition of the third person. One of the officers underwent surgery after being flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Rockford, VanVickle said.
Illinois State Police are investigating the shooting, VanVickle added.
The Lost Lake homeowners association describes the area as a “country-style community” with about 700 owners in an unincorporated area close to the cities of Dixon, Franklin Grove and Oregon, about 100 miles west of Chicago.