Editor’s Note: This article contains discussions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can find resources in your area on the National Crisis Line website or by calling 988.
UNINCORPORATED CARY, Ill. (WGN) A man is dead after he turned his own gun on himself following a suspected failed attempt to kidnap two teenage girls in Illinois, according to local authorities.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said they received a 911 report at around 3:25 p.m. Tuesday that two teenage girls were approached by a suspicious man while walking home in the area of Fox River Road and North Harvest Glen Road.
Deputies said a sedan driven by a 32-year-old Cary man pulled in front of the girls and parked in the direction they were walking, before he got out of the car with a mask on.
The girls, scared for their safety, ran home and told one of their fathers and brothers about what happened.
According to the LCSO, the father and a brother then drove through the subdivision looking for the vehicle that stopped in front of the two teenage girls, hoping to get the driver’s license plate number.
The two found the vehicle driving around the neighborhood. After the vehicle’s driver recognized they found him, deputies said he blocked their path and pulled out a gun.
After a second 911 call, this time from the father and brother, a McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy and a McHenry County conservation officer were in the area and able to find the vehicle.
The two McHenry County law enforcement personnel tried to pull the vehicle over. When they went to conduct a traffic stop, the driver pulled into a parking lot in the area of Crystal Lake Road and Foxford Drive. Deputies said he then retrieved a gun and shot himself.
The LCSO said life-saving efforts were made on the 32-year-old Cary man, but he was taken to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
“This is undoubtedly a tragic situation for everyone involved,” LCSO Deputy Chief Chris Covelli said. “The teens in this case did the right thing by not engaging with the man and running away, while summoning trusted adults to help them.”
The Lake County Coroner’s Office is scheduling an autopsy, while the McHenry County Conservation District investigates the death, and the LCSO is investigating the previous incident.
