The Will County Sheriff’s Office has provided an update on the shooting that occurred in Lockport. WCSO says that 70-year-old John P. Shadbar was arraigned on May 9, 2024 and officially charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Battery, Hate Crime, Criminal Damage to Property, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm, No FOID Card, and three counts of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon.
The shooting occurred on May 7 on 144th Place in Lockport. The 70-year-old is accused of shooting a 45-year-old female neighborhood. The victim remains in critical condition at Silver Cross Hospital. WCSO reports that Shadbar had been arrested for a felony in 1979 at which time his FOID card was revoked.
A search warrant was carried out at Shadbar’s residence. WCSO reports that authorities recovered five weapons inside a wall, including two AK-47 style rifles, a shotgun, and two handguns. It is believed that one of the AK-47 rifles was used in the shooting.
In 2022 and 2023, WCSO says there were zero neighbor complaint calls made to the victim’s residence or Shadbar’s residence. In 2024, WCSO responded to a few calls to the victim’s residence. Those calls were reportedly minor and non-related to the shooting.
There have been three calls from the victim related to Shadbar. In March 2024, the victim made two complaint calls regarding Shadbar. In one call, the victim reported that Shadbar was acting agitated and yelling at her and her children. The second call was about Shadbar shooting fireworks and possibly a gun over the victim’s backyard fence.
The victim told authorities she had ongoing issues with Shadbar. The third complaint was the shooting call on May 7, 2024.
Jay Skelton is an independent crime journalist with a passion for covering the uncovered and the under covered.