A Shorewood man has been slapped with charges linked to a horrifying January mass shooting in Joliet that left eight people dead and another wounded. Jon Hansen, 24, was arrested and charged with a string of crimes, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery with a firearm, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago.
Hansen is accused of assisting the main suspect, Romeo Nance, 23, during the fatal crime spree. The two shootings, believed to be random but connected, happened approximately two miles and within ten minutes apart, according to information provided by the Will County Sheriff's Office. One victim, Toyosi Bakare, 28, was fatally shot in the eye at Pheasant Run Apartments, while a 42-year-old man sustained injuries on Davis Street.
Investigators believe that Hansen was in the company of Nance, who would later take his own life as law enforcement closed in on him in Texas. Witnessing the horror unfold, after Nance injured the 42-year-old man, Hansen allegedly threw the murder weapon into the DuPage River. The police later retrieved the gun, which was identified as the same weapon used in the suicides of both Nance and Bakare, as per information obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The other victims, all related to Nance, were discovered across two homes on West Acres Road. They included his mother Tameaka Nance, 47; his siblings Joshua Nance, 31, Alexandria Nance, 20, Alonnah Nance, 16, and Angel Nance, 14; his aunt Christine Esters, 38; and his uncle William Esters II, 35. Officials stated that Hansen is not accused of being involved in these murders.
In the tragedy's aftermath, Nance's girlfriend, 21-year-old Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, is also facing an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly providing false information meant to thwart Nance's arrest. Hansen was taken into custody on May 31 and is currently being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility awaiting his initial court appearance. The community, shocked and grieving, continues to search for answers as the investigation into this brutal incident unfolds.
