On the morning of July 28, at approximately 4:10 a.m., Champaign Police Officers received a report of domestic violence in the 4400 block of Ironwood Lane between a 38-year-old female victim and her 56-year-old live-in boyfriend.
Following interviews, officers learned the female victim had been taken to Carle Foundation Hospital the morning of July 27 after claiming she had been pepper sprayed, restrained against her will and struck multiple times in the head and body by her boyfriend. The victim was released from the hospital later that morning after receiving treatment.
As a result of the police investigation, officers determined probable cause existed to arrest the boyfriend on suspicion of Aggravated Domestic Battery and Aggravated Unlawful Restraint; however, police were unable to locate him. Champaign Police were also informed the subject possessed multiple firearms and was potentially suicidal.
On July 28, at approximately 11:10 p.m., Champaign Police responded to the 4400 block of Ironwood Lane after receiving reports the boyfriend had returned to the residence and was possibly suicidal. Police negotiators attempted to repeatedly talk the boyfriend into coming out of the residence; however, he barricaded himself inside the residence and refused to come out. The Champaign Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Team and the Champaign Police/ University of Illinois Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team responded to the scene while negotiations with the boyfriend continued.
This morning, July 29 at approximately 4:15 a.m., officers heard what sounded like a single gunshot coming from inside the residence. The residence was then cleared by the S.W.A.T. team, and the suspect was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Medical aid was immediately rendered by an on-scene S.W.A.T. Medic from the Champaign Fire Department, and he was then transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance where he later died.
Police are investigating this incident and ask that anyone with information contact the Champaign Police Department Investigations Division at 217-351-4545.
Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Crime Stoppers by phone at: 217-373-8477 (TIPS); online at www.373tips.com; or the “P3 Tips” mobile app.
Champaign Police reminds citizens that information submitted to Crime Stoppers is completely anonymous. Calls are routed to a third-party national call center that receives your information, completes a tips information form, and then passes the information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Caller ID tracking is not utilized by Crime Stoppers and conversations are not recorded.