A gun went off from inside a moving vehicle near the Taco Bell on North Division Street in Morris early Sunday, setting off a chain of events that ended with a 23-year-old driver in the Grundy County Jail. No one was hurt, but the middle-of-the-night disturbance sent officers scrambling across two counties before they tracked down the car on Interstate 80.
A Drive-Thru Dispute Turns Into Gunfire
According to WCSJ News, the Morris Police Department responded to a report of a firearm discharged from a vehicle at around 1:31 a.m. Sunday. The person who called it in told police a subject was causing a disturbance in the drive-thru line at the Taco Bell located at 1816 North Division Street, and that a firearm was then fired out of a vehicle window, per the outlet's report.
Officers didn't have to search far from home base. Morris police, working with Grundy County sheriff's deputies, conducted a traffic stop on I-80 at Ashley Road and located the vehicle believed to be tied to the gunfire, the report states. The driver and a passenger were both taken into custody and brought back to the Morris Police Department for questioning.
Charges Filed Against Manhattan Driver
Police identified the driver as Richard Facchina, a 23-year-old from Manhattan, Illinois. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm before being transported to the Grundy County Jail, per the same account. The passenger who was riding with him was questioned but ultimately released without any charges.
Illinois law defines reckless discharge as firing a gun recklessly in a way that endangers someone’s bodily safety, and classifies the offense as a Class 4 felony. The statute also says a driver can be held accountable if a passenger fires from a moving vehicle with the driver’s knowledge and consent. That provision applies only when those conditions are met; the reported account identifies Facchina as the driver but does not specify how investigators say the gun was fired.
While detectives worked to track down the vehicle on the interstate, another team was busy back at the scene. Morris detectives processed the Taco Bell parking lot, reviewed surveillance footage from the area, spoke with witnesses, and collected evidence, the report notes. Investigators also interviewed the individuals involved in the incident as part of building the case.
No Injuries Reported
The lack of injuries in Morris contrasts with the broader toll of firearm injuries statewide. In 2022, Illinois recorded 1,829 firearm-related deaths, 1,625 hospitalizations for firearm injuries and 3,851 emergency-room visits that ended in patients being treated and released, state health department data show. The figures cover firearm injuries of different kinds and causes, not just incidents involving gunfire in public places.
Despite a gun being fired near a busy fast-food drive-thru in the middle of the night, no one was injured as a result of the incident, the outlet reported. The case remains an active investigation for the Morris Police Department.
