Five people were found shot dead in a suspected murder-suicide at a suburban Chicago home late Sunday.
The bodies of three men and two women were discovered in several rooms of the residence in Mundelein, Illinois, a village where crime runs 63 percent below the national average, after a daughter called from roughly 2,000 miles away requesting a welfare check. Authorities believe the shooter was someone in a romantic relationship with one of the slain family members, and that all five victims were killed at close range with a handgun.
The home was owned by retired veterinarians Rebecca Schmidt, 77, and James Schmidt, 80, along with their son Bryan Schmidt, 51, who had operated the family’s now-shuttered cat clinic. While officials have not formally confirmed the identities of the deceased, neighbors feared the elderly couple and two relatives were among them.
“She was a spry, retired veterinarian,” one neighbor said of Rebecca Schmidt. “She was a friendly person. She’d wave to people. She’d have conversations with all kinds of neighbors.”
The welfare check that uncovered the massacre was prompted by a call from the homeowners’ daughter in California, according to WLS. What she sensed from across the country led police to a scene of methodical violence: two firearms recovered inside, a gray Volkswagen Jetta sealed off in a neighboring funeral parlor parking lot, and five bodies distributed through multiple rooms of the house.
Neighbors had mistaken the gunfire for pregame celebration. Sunday brought the Chicago Bears matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, and some residents told WLS they assumed the sounds were firecrackers set off ahead of kickoff.
“It’s a really safe, small town,” neighbor Pavli Ibarra told WLS. “So hearing this, five people dying, it’s kind of concerning.”
The village of Mundelein carries a namesake tied to peace: former Archbishop of Chicago George Mundelein, whose legacy lent the community an identity at odds with the bloodshed inside the Schmidt home. Debbie Wunluck, another neighbor, described the slain couple to the Daily Herald as “quiet people” and added, “Nothing like this happens around here.”
Police told the Daily Herald that the four relatives were killed by a partner of one among them, though they have not specified which victim had the romantic tie to the shooter or disclosed a motive. Autopsies are underway and the investigation continues.