2024 Joliet shootings

On January 21, 2024, a gunman opened fire on three separate occasions in and around Joliet, Illinois. A total of eight people were killed, and one person was injured. The perpetrator, 23-year-old Romeo Nance, who was related to seven of the victims, fatally shot himself a day later after being confronted by law enforcement officials near Natalia, Texas.^[4][5] It is the deadliest mass shooting in Illinois history, surpassing the shootings in Highland Park and Palatine. To date, it is the deadliest mass shooting of 2024.

At around 4:15 pm CST, the perpetrator, Romeo Nance, drove by a 42-year-old man who was getting items out of his car in the 200 block of Davis Street in Joliet. Nance briefly stopped and the two exchanged words before Nance drove on. After the man crossed the street, Nance returned from the other direction and opened fire, striking the man in the leg before driving away.

Around 10 minutes later, the Will County Sheriff's Office responded to the Pheasant Run Apartments complex in Preston Heights, where officers discovered 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare with a gunshot wound to the head. Bakare was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.^[5]

Using surveillance footage from the shootings, the Sheriff's Office was able to identify the perpetrator and vehicle, but were unable to locate either. Deputies then set up surveillance near Nance's home in the 2200 block of West Acres Road in Joliet at around midnight. After about 12 hours, deputies approached Nance's home and spotted blood outside and subsequently made entry. Inside, they found 47-year-old Tameka Nance and 35-year-old William Esters II dead of gunshot wounds. Tameka was the mother of the shooter, and William was the shooter's uncle.^[6] The Sheriff's Office then contacted the Joliet Police Department.

Officers checked a second house on the same block because it was inhabited by some of Nance's family members. Inside they found 37-year-old Christine Esters, 31-year-old Joshua Nance, 20-year-old Alexandria Nance, 14-year-old Angel Nance, and 16-year-old Alonnah Nance all dead from gunshot wounds.^[4][7] Jon W. Hansen was interviewed by police in late January after the shootings and revealed that he was with Nance during at least two of the shootings. He said that Nance gave him the weapon he used to shoot one of the victims and that Hansen threw the gun into the nearby DuPage River. Authorities searched the river and found a loaded black Springfield Armory XDS pistol.^[2]

Nance then drove south to Texas, where police believe he stopped at a mall and acquired Texas license plates which he put onto his vehicle to attempt to throw authorities off his trail. At around 8:30 pm CST the following day, U.S. Marshals located Nance in Natalia. Nance was then confronted by police at a gas station just outside of Natalia, and he fatally shot himself with a handgun during a stand-off with police.^[8][5]

All of the victims, except the injured 42-year-old man and Bakare, were related to Nance, but police believe Bakare was connected to Nance in some way. Police also said that Nance had a criminal history but have yet to disclose what that entails.^[4]

In 2018, the shooter was charged with an armed robbery using a knife. In January 2023, he was arrested for allegedly opening fire on another driver during a road rage incident.^[9]

Shortly after the shootings, Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, the girlfriend of Romeo Nance was arrested and charged with felony obstruction of justice. Judge David Carlson ordered that she be placed on home confinement until further notice.^[10][11] On February 9, 2024, she pled not guilty to the charge.^[12]