Person of interest in custody after teen shot and killed in Round Lake Beach home
ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (CBS) — A 15-year-old girl was killed after she was hit by a stray bullet while inside a home in north suburban Round Lake Beach Wednesday night.
Round Lake Beach police say just after 9 p.m., officers responded to a home in the 1500 block of Cherokee Drive for a report of a person injured. Officers found the girl inside the home who had been shot.
Police said someone from outside fired a gun near the home. A stray bullet entered the victim's home and struck the victim.
She was taken to an area hospital, where she died. She has been identified as 15-year-old Valeria Rodriguez, of Round Lake Beach, according to the Lake County Coroner's office. An autopsy determined she died of a gunshot wound to the torso.
Police said Rodriguez did not appear to be the intended target. The girl's father told CBS News Chicago that she was sitting in the kitchen when she was shot.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified said Rodriguez recently celebrated her quinceañera at the home and called her death "surreal."
"It could have been anybody, or if somebody was just messing around or just picked a random target," the neighbor said. "It's kind of scary to think that, you know, right next to my house. My kids' windows are right there."
Jackie Santana, another neighbor, said she was devastated to hear that someone in the usually quiet neighborhood had been shot. Her security camera captured kids playing in a nearby park moments before the shooting. It later captured the street filled with officers on Cherokee Drive. Santana said she stepped outside and saw the mother of the victim in tears.
"It was just very devastating," she said. "I almost wanted to cry myself, because I can't imagine having a family member just suddenly, you're inside your house and suddenly someone is shot."
A person of interest, who has not been identified, was taken into custody, police confirmed Friday morning. Police said a firearm was recovered during a search warrant.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force assisted Round Lake Beach police in the investigation, which remained ongoing as of Thursday. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Round Lake Beach police at 847-546-2127.