A furious father in Illinois took matters into his own hands after his daughter showed up at home at around 2:30 in the morning on Tuesday, the 26th of December, having been severely beaten. Furious, the father left the home in search of the suspect and ended up in a gunfight with the alleged girl-beater. Both men shot each other in the ensuing fight.
The Wood River Police Department took to Facebook to report on how it was handling the incident and describe the complicated chain of events that ended in both the father and the domestic abuse suspect being shot, with the shooting occurring near the town’s Lewis and Clark Junior High School.
Beginning, the Wood River Police Department described the situation surrounding the report of domestic violence that began the situation, saying, “On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, at 2:36 a.m., the Wood River Police Department received a report of a Domestic Battery that occurred on Mildred St., Wood River IL. The female reporting the domestic battery left the residence to get away from the male subject involved in the domestic battery and went to her parents’ home.”
Continuing, the department added that the responding officers tried to find the young woman after she reported the domestic abuse but had trouble finding her at first, saying, “Officers responded to the parents’ home, but the female reporting the domestic battery had left the parents’ home to meet with officers at the home on Mildred St. It was reported the father of the female also left in a separate vehicle. When officers arrived on Mildred Street the male reported to be involved in the domestic battery was not located.”
Next, the department noted that the officers had to respond to a shooting that occurred around the same time as the situation with the woman, saying, “While officers were investigating the domestic battery report, at 2:49 a.m., the Wood River Police Department received a report of shots being fired on Sixth St. near Acton Ave. Officers immediately responded.”
And what the officers found when the arrived at the scene of the shooting, the department reported, was that the female’s father had been shot and the male allegedly involved in the domestic battery had been shot as well. It said, “Upon arrival two males were located being the victim of gunshot wounds. One is the father of the female reporting the domestic battery, and the other was the male being reported involved in the domestic battery.”
The department noted that EMS had to transport both men to the hospital, one by ambulance and one by helicopter. It said, “Emergency Medical Services were immediately dispatched to the scene. Both were transported to St. Louis area hospitals. One by ambulance and one by helicopter. The Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services were requested to the scene to process the crime scene. This was not a random act of violence.”
Concluding, the department added that the incident is under investigation, saying, “The incident remains under investigation by Detectives with the Wood River Police Department. After the investigation, the facts of the case will be turned over to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office for review.”
An eyewitness at the scene of the shooting claimed that “he heard a pop, he stepped outside and saw the [father] man standing over the younger one, pointing a gun at him.” At that point, the younger man, the suspected domestic abuser, was begging the father not to shoot him as the father said, “That’s my daughter! She means everything to me!”
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