Palos Heights Man Shot In Home Invasion
PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) -- Police were searching for two men who shot a Palos Heights resident during a home invasion early Tuesday.
Deputy Chief Dave Delaney said the suspects broke into Scott Farrow's home in the 7900 block of West 131st Street around 3:30 a.m.
"The gentleman was lying on his couch when he heard his back door being forced open," Delaney said.
Police Believe Shooting Victim Targeted For Casino Winnings
Farrow, 51, was soon confronted by two men in their 20s or 30s.
"They hit him with a blunt object, and demanded the cash that he had won earlier in the night … at a gambling boat," Delaney said. "When he resisted them, he was shot once in the abdomen."
Police suspect the two men had followed Farrow home from a casino, although the break-in happened a couple of hours after he returned home.
The robbers got away with a substantial amount of cash.
Farrow went to a neighbor's for help, and paramedics took him to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he underwent surgery Tuesday morning.
"My husband took care of him and stopped the bleeding and I called 911," said neighbor Vicki Finegan.
Police hope surveillance video from the riverboat casino where the victim had been gambling or from the neighborhood where the home invasion took place might help them zero in on the suspects.
Delaney said some Palos Heights residents have been known to install surveillance cameras outside their homes, and that could help them track down the offenders.
The search for the robbers prompted police to close part of 131st Street early Tuesday, but the street was later reopened.
Police do not know what casino Farrow returned from and if he gambled, but hope to use surveillance tapes from the casino to identify the suspects.
