HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. () — Highland Park police are turning to the community for assistance as they work to locate two people they want to question in connection with a Monday night shooting that left one person hospitalized.
Authorities have shared images of the two persons of interest, who investigators say were reportedly seen speaking with the victim shortly before the gunfire erupted.
According to police, the man and woman have been identified, but detectives are still working to determine whether they should be treated as witnesses or possible suspects in the Highland Park shooting.
The incident happened Monday night in the 300 block of Walker Avenue, an area of Highland Park close to the Highwood border, where police said a person was shot.
The victim, identified by police as a 30-year-old man, was transported to a hospital in critical condition. By Tuesday morning, officials said his condition had begun to improve.
Police emphasized that the shooting appears to have been an isolated incident and said the people involved were known to one another.
In the hours after the shooting, a heavy police presence remained in the neighborhood, with officers carrying rifles and shields while drones and K-9 units were also deployed in the search area.
“No, I figured they’re long gone, or they’ve been down there in the forest preserve, who knows,” neighborhood resident Marian McNair said.
McNair was determined to take her morning walk even though police are still looking for two people wanted in connection with a shooting the day before.
“The neighborhood is changing; things change,” McNair said.
At one point Monday, people were told to shelter in place. Neighbors said the situation was unsettling.
“I don’t know. It’s starting to get, you know, it’s getting pretty nasty. This is something happen in Chicago, Waukegan or North Chicago, but not here in Highwood,” one nearby resident said.
Nicola Roberts-Jones said she may have seen the two persons of interest in the neighborhood the day before the shooting,
“It was a similar outfit; that’s why I recognize a lady. But that was the one thing that kind of made me a little bit more nervous because the fact that you saw them the day before,” Roberts-Jones said.
Delonte Keys, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was watching his children around 7 p.m. Monday when he heard a disturbance outside.
“It happened across the street. So when I was getting my groceries, I saw the ambulance working on the guy, everything like that,” he said.
Police are warning the public that if you see either of the individuals, call 911.
Highland Park police are being assisted in the investigation by the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.
