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Illinois Cops Hunt Gunman Who Killed 5

By MICHAEL TARM,
AP
Posted: 2008-02-03 16:57:53
Filed Under: Crime News
TINLEY PARK, Ill. (Feb. 3) - A massive manhunt was under way Sunday for a gunman who killed five women in the back room of a suburban Chicago clothing store during a botched robbery attempt.

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Nam Y. Huh, AP

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A policeman stands outside of the Lane Bryant in Tinley Park, Ill. where officers responded to a 911 call Saturday morning and found five female victims shot dead after a robbery.

A man was seen leaving the Lane Bryant on Saturday morning before police found the store's manager and four customers shot to death. Authorities have released few details about the brazen killings in the busy shopping center.

"This has been an extremely sensitive investigation," said Tinley Park Police Chief Mike O'Connell.

The victims were identified Sunday as Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Carrie H. Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.

The Will County coroner's office said all five died from gunshot wounds.

"Our emotions are raw. And we are still in shock," Szafranski's family said in a statement. "Sarah was loved by all who knew her and we are counting on that love to sustain us while we mourn."

Chiuso was a social worker at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, where she graduated 1993.

"Carrie was deeply loved by faculty and staff," said school spokesman Dave Thieman in a statement. "She had a real touch with students. The entire H-F family is deeply saddened."

Officers had swept through neighboring shops, aisle by aisle and with guns drawn, shortly after the shootings in search of a man a bystander reported fleeing the store. Police later used dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared sensors in their search but did not find the suspect.

The Lane Bryant store did not have a camera, but Tinley Park police Sgt. T.J. Grady said investigators were trying to determine whether there was video from security cameras mounted at nearby stores.

Chicago-area Lane Bryant stores were closed Sunday in honor of those who died. The store's parent company, Bensalem, Pa.-based Charming Shoppes Inc., said it was offering a $50,000 reward for information that could lead police to the killer.

"The employees of Charming Shoppes and Lane Bryant are deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from this horrific event," the statement said. "We grieve for the innocent victims and our primary concern at this time is for the families and loved ones of those fatally injured."

Police tape flapped in the wind in front of the boarded-up store, while mourners erected a makeshift memorial of five white crosses and flowers in the parking lot.

A tear rolled down Cindy Sorenson's cheek as she brought a bouquet of bright red roses to Lane Bryant, which is part of a cluster of stores that sit across a large blacktop parking lot from big box stores, including Target and Best Buy.

Sorenson, who works as a store manager at a nearby mall in this community of nearly 60,000 people, said she didn't know the victims, but couldn't stop thinking about the women who died.

"Your job is your home," the 34-year-old Tinley Park resident said. "You spend so much time in a store and you never think anything like this will happen."

David Korbel knelt down on one knee and bowed his head by a curb in front of the store.

"I simply prayed for the families and for the authorities, so that they would get the man who did this," said Korbel, who lives in nearby Frankfort.

Saturday's attack was unsettling for residents of Tinley Park, a growing suburb of nearly 60,000 people where only one murder was reported between 1999 through 2006, according to annual reports compiled by Illinois State Police.

Tinley Park Mayor Edward Zabrocki said he ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on municipal buildings for five days — one day for each of the victims.

"This tragedy should not have happened in any town," he said.

Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen and Caryn Rousseau in Chicago contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-02-02 16:13:05
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Recent Comments

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5958 comments

da1nonlyafrknmc 02:40:07 AM Feb 10 2008

cosign

kcaron10127 07:27:12 AM Feb 09 2008

purecourage 06:32:28 AM Feb 06 2008
"Why is it that when one black person does something negative they represent ALL black people."

They DON'T represent all blacks, and anyone with a brain knows it.

But The fact remains that the number of violent crimes committed by blacks is VASTLY disproportionate to their representation in the general population.

According to this FBI / Department of Justice report (2005), African Americans make up only about 13% of the US population, yet are responsible for 33% of the rapes, 49% of the murders, and 56% of the robberies in this country.

Only an utter fool would deny that this is a very serious problem.

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_43.html

babgemini43 05:35:00 PM Feb 08 2008

I HAVE SAID PRAYERS FOR THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES., GOOD BLESS THEM...

whoitisnot 05:32:02 PM Feb 08 2008

The real shame is that our law enforcement officers are tied down trying to enforce the laws of the moralist rather than fight real crime in this country.

mpauly202 04:58:39 PM Feb 08 2008

Rhoda's wake is today...we love you Rhoda. I miss your beautiful smile.

marksmant2 03:38:55 PM Feb 08 2008

From the FBI:
Inner City Minority males, ages 14 to 35, commit 56,6% of all violent crime in America, while they comprise less than 3,5% of the population, and contribute less than 1/10 of 1% to the gross national product. Please join the National association of black and Hispanic law officer's and tell your Congressman and Senator you want money from homeland security allocated to clean the “Criminal element†out of the inner cities. Call now, before your mother is “Beaten to death†for a “Couple of dollarsâ€,[NEW YORK] and your wife and teenage daughter are repeatedly “Gang Raped†and “Sodomized†while you are forced to watch, [Oakland] Or your daughter and her boyfriend are raped, sodomized, murdered, and dismembered, [ Knoxville] or your son is “Murderedâ€, just because some “Under privileged†Young gentleman thought he looked at him the “Wrong wayâ€, [DETROIT] Actual cases. CALL NOW

petehanse 03:27:10 PM Feb 08 2008

Have any descriptions of the suspects been given,,,,,perhaps if we had some sketches .....we would all be aware of whom to look for .

mwcrum 03:03:11 PM Feb 08 2008

Good job politicians. Keep the people disarmed so they can't defend themseves against criminals with guns. You are doing a great job keeping the criminals safe from those of us who are law abiding.

cnjwoolf 10:39:14 AM Feb 08 2008

Gee it's too bad that at least one of those women wasn't armed her self; maybe then it would have had a better ending. When guns are outlawed only outlaws have guns.

mgilse 10:27:40 AM Feb 08 2008

When this guy is caught, I bet he is someone who has been arrested before and had his jail time commuted to a lesser sentence.

Americans need to take action and go to war on soft judges. It's time to clean house of judges in our community who are allowing animals like this to walk our streets.

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