McHenry County Blog

A press release from the Harvard Police Department:

Unlawful Discharge of A Firearm

On Tuesday, 04-16-13 at 2257 hrs, Harvard Police responded to an apartment in the 200 blk. of Admiral Dr. for a report of gunshots. On officers arrival it was reported gunshots were fired at an apartment.

Investigation revealed numerous gunshots struck the exterior of the apartment with several bullets lodging inside the apartment.

Further investigation indicated there was at least one offender who was seen fleeing the area on foot in a southeast direction.

The offender was described as tall, thin build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Investigation indicates the suspect fled to 300 blk. of S. Division St, where police believe a vehicle was waiting.

This incident is related to the incident occurring on Monday, 04-15-13 at 2051 hrs, when Harvard Police responded to the area of S. Eastman St. and W. Thompson St. for reported of gunshots.

Both of these incidents are believed to be gang related.

The Harvard Police Department would like to assure the community these incidents are taken extremely seriously and are actively being investigated. The Harvard Police Department is concerned about the safety of the community and is taking appropriate steps to increase details in the area.

At this time there is no further information available on these crimes. The Harvard Police asks our community to be vigilant of suspicious activity, persons and vehicles in their neighborhoods by reporting the activity to the police department. Anyone with information pertaining to these crimes should call the Harvard Police Department at (815)943-4431 or Crime Stoppers at (815)943-4343

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Here is the press release from Tuesday:

Unlawful Discharge of A Firearm

Neighborhood where the shooting took place in Harvard, Illinois.

On Monday, 04-15-13 at 2051 hrs, Harvard Police responded to the area of S. Eastman St. and W. Thompson St. for a report of gunshots.

On officers arrival it was reported several shots were fired in the area. Investigation revealed a door of a residence in 200 blk. of W. Thompson St. and a truck also parked on W. Thompson St. were struck with a bullet.

Investigation revealed the suspect may have been on foot in the area. At this time there is no suspect or suspect vehicle information available.

Harvard Police request that anyone with information pertaining to this incident call the Harvard Police Department at (815)943-4431 or Crime Stoppers at (815)943-4343

The Tribune ran an article on its web site shortly before 9 AM.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Crystal Laker John Larimer, who was a cryptologic technician in the Navy, was among the victims shot at the movie theater showing the Batman movie.

You can read its story here.

Almost ten acres are in the parcel for which re-zoning is requested. It is at the southeast corner of Queen Anne's Road and Route 120. The land is owned by Franks Trust 2/McHenry County Sportsman's Center, Inc.

Paul Levin wants to share this information:

Thursday April 26 and 1:30 pm at the Government Center on Ware in Woodstock the zoning commission is having a second meeting to discuss the proposed outdoor gun range at Queen Anne and Rte. 120 on the previous Deer Run Golf Center.

I live among over 140 homes within 1/3 mile of this site and via petitions we are getting signed throughout the sub-division, the almost unanimous reception is to STOP this gun range from being a reality.

It is just too close to well over 500 homes in Bull Valley, Woodstock, McHenry County.

The noise, danger from possible stray bullets, home value degradation, disruption of our daily rural lives, pollution from spent lead shot and bullets, etc. dictate that this site is not conducive to our neighbors ways of living.

Children living in our area would be subjected to the noise from this range, as proposed, from 8 am to 8 pm, 7 days a week. We cannot allow this business to open so close to our homes.

Opponents point out that the shooting range would be 650 yards from Victorian Country/Newman Homes and 810 of a mile from Marian Central High School.

Can you assist us to stop this 50 lane plus skeet shooting gun range from becoming a reality?

Anyone else seeing this should join our outcry and attend the meeting Thursday.

The firm that provided the ammunition that is supposed to disintegrate upon impact was sued by McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Woods in Federal Court on January 25, 2011.

McHenry County Blog obtained the purchase orders through a Freedom of Information Act request and published an article on April 30, 2010.

International Cartridge Corporation of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania was the supplier.

In his suit, being represented by Rockford attorney Kevin P. Justen, Woods asks for more that $75,000, apparently a needed threshold for gaining Federal jurisdiction, for what happened on the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department’s Shooting Range on March 15th.

The brief points out that ICC’s bullet “fragments of the frangible bullet rebounded and ricocheted into” Woods as a result of a “manufacturing defect…the  bullets did not disintegrate on impact.”

There was not adequate warning of this “hazard,” the suit says.

An International Cartridge Corporation video promotes no ricocheting. More visuals at the original article linked above.

The “defects that rendered the frangible bullets unreasonably dangerous to its intended users were the proximate cause of the personal injuries and damages sustained by” Woods.

And what was he impact of the injury on Woods?

“Woods

• sustained severe and permanent bodily injuries,
• resulting in the Plaintiff incurring medical bills and expenses in endeavoring to treat and cure his injuries,
• has caused him great pain and suffering, and will cause him in the future great pain and suffering, and
• he has lost great gains that would have otherwise been made and acquired and will in the future lose gains he would have made and acquired and he has and continues to be impaired from going about his daily affairs,

all to his damage.”

The nature of the injuries are described as

• personal,
• pecuniary and
• permanent

You can read the original filing here.

Supporters of the Second Amendment are especially invited to the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation for skeet shooting with Congressman Joe Walsh followed by breakfast.

As you can see from the invitation below, the price is steep–$250 for breakfast and $1,000 for skeet shooting, plus breakfast.

The date is September 18th, a Sunday.

Hosts are Mike Miller, Ed Tolle and Mike Ward.

Explanations McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and shooting range injured Deputy Eric Woods have offered about his shooting and the extent of Wood’s injury are challenged in press release which arrived this morning. The release follows:

INJURIES CONTINUE TO NAG SHERIFF’S DEPUTY — AND HIS BOSSES

McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Woods continued to experience health problems more than three months after his shooting accident at the Sheriff’s range, raising serious doubts about statements Sheriff’s officials made declaring the incident over and done with, the Mike Mahon for Sheriff campaign noted Wednesday.

A published report in late May quoted Dep. Woods as saying he was back to full functioning.  But in all of June 2010, Dep. Woods did not have one single day of normal, routine duty.

Of the 30 calendar days that month, Woods’s payroll status was “injured on duty” (IOD) for 13 days and “light duty” for another five, according to a Sheriff’s Office FOIA response.

Local newspapers published two stories in late May in which Dep. Woods personally insisted that the injuries he suffered March 15 during a shooting accident at the range were not particularly serious and a few subsequent hospital and/or doctor visits had resolved them.

Frangible bullet dust after bullets have been shot. Photo from the manufacturer.

He also restated the official version of the incident, which was that fragments of “frangible” ammunition had struck him.

Frangible ammunition is designed to disintegrate into harmless powder on impact, preventing injury to participants during live fire exercises.

According to an account quoting Dep. Woods that was published in The Northwest Herald on May 29:

“Woods said he was functioning at the same level he was before the accident.”

That was clearly not true during the month of June.

In addition to the 18 days he was either IOD or light duty, Woods was off for seven days and carried on payroll records as either “travel” or “school” for another five.

“Even if the entire incident happened as the Sheriff’s Office maintains, Sheriff (Keith) Nygren at least owes the public some notice that Dep. Woods’s injuries were more severe than originally thought, or was conveyed to the press in May, and that there have been complications beyond those already noted,” Mahon said.

Shooting Range Video from the International Cartidge Corporation, manufacturer of frangible ammunition used by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

This is true particularly in view of how forthcoming with information Woods and Sheriff’s officials were to reporters of the Northwest Herald and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald in stories published May 29 and May 28, respectively, but nevertheless 2 ½ months after the accident.

Certainly Dep. Woods could not have spoken freely with reporters without permission from his superiors.

“Sheriff Nygren thought he had put this embarrassing incident to bed, but subsequent events don’t seem to be cooperating,” Mahon said.

“He should realize that the truth will come out eventually, one way or another.”

Mike Mahon has vowed to have the entire matter investigated by an outside agency if he is elected.  He has also questioned why the Sheriff’s Office has not raised the issue of malfunctioning frangible ammunition with the manufacturer, if the incident happened as described in official reports.

Targets that could be seen from the door of the entrance to the shooting range. Note the missing vicious dog target.

Missing from the photos the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department provided me as a result of a Freedom of Information request was the paper target of the vicious dog.

Vicious dog target without a bullet hole.

The low target representing a snarling dog, as readers will remember, is the one that Deputy Hart’s report said that “shrapnel“ from the one bullet he shot at it ricocheted to at least five places:

• Eric Woods’ face
• Eric Woods’ right hand
• Eric Woods’ left arm
• Eric Woods’ inner left thigh
• Deputy Manes “concussion to my right side”

I requested a copy of the dog target used in the exercise, but was told,

“The actual one used was destroyed during the exercise-it’s made of paper.”

Diagram of shooting range incident prepared by Deputy A. Thomas.

Deputy A. Thomas has placed the members of the 8-man “stack” from left to right like this:

Manus, Woods, Hart (with Ellis behind him outside the enclosure), Embry and McKenzie.
Sgt. Pyle also wrote that he was outside, but I can’t find him on the drawing.

That brings the total identified members of the team to seven.

I cannot identify the eighth member of the SWAT Team.

So far, the injured deputy, Woods, Embry and the so-far-unidentified eighth member of the team have not yet filed reports.

What you see below is an enlargement of a photo showing two male targets at the back of the range.  Note that there are bullet holes in the paper targets below.

Two deputies and small target at the shooting range. Photo supplied by Sheriff's Department.

Three short calls were made to 911 after McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Woods was wounded by ricocheting bullet fragments at the sheriff’s shooting range on March 15th.

Two men and four targets. Photo supplied by the Sheriff's Department.

Others have said that a Flight for Life helicopter was called, but that, instead, an ambulance took the wounded Woods to Centegra’s Woodstock hospital. One of the recordings, which can be found below, mentions that possibility.

Shooting range targets, apparently as seen from the door. Photo supplied by the Sheriff's Department.

Eric Woods 911 call #1

Tape showing the small target was about four feet from the door. Photo provided by the Sheriff's Department.

Eric Woods 911 call #2

Three shell casings near the tape measuring the distance to the small target. Photo provided by the Sheriff's Department.

Eric Woods 911 call #3

McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Woods must have been received bullet fragments wounds worse than folks thought.

So far, only Woodstock Advocate—here and here—and McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Exposed—here and here—have run articles.  You can find my first article with the guts of all the reports written by deputies at the scene and provided by the Sheriff’s Department here.

Not a word yet in the Northwest or the Daily Herald.

Today, I’ll add the information that injured Deputy Eric Woods was not only hospitalized at Centegra’s Woodstock hospital last week right after he received gunshot wounds to his face, right hand, left arm and inner left thigh, but the latter part of this week he was back at Centegra’s McHenry hospital.

As you will imagine, if you read all of the posts by the non-dead tree publications above, there is a real story here, the fullness of which remains to be revealed.

What NIU students see when they log onto the university web site. (Click to enlarge any image.)

Just a little over a year after the mass murdering of students in a lecture hall, students are awaking this morning for a yellow highlighted notice of a “campus alert.”

Campus Alert

5:03 a.m., 2/19/10

NIU Police are investigating a shooting that occurred on campus during the early morning hours on Friday, February 19.

The incident occurred near the Stevenson Residence Hall. An NIU student was injured in the shooting, and was transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital for treatment.

The message that the alert points to.

NIU Public Safety officials are stating that the event appears to be an isolated incident between two individuals, and that the alleged assailant is in police custody.

NIU Public Safety officials are advising all students, and campus residents to take extra precaution on Friday morning, and to be alert for any unusual circumstances.  If students observe anything that appears to be out of the ordinary they are asked to call NIU Public Safety at 815-753-1212.

The NIU campus remains open, and all classes will be held as scheduled.

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4:29 a.m., 2/19/10

There has been a shooting on campus. Campus has been locked down. The suspect has been apprehended and is in custody. More details to come.

Just reading what the students have on their computers would make me think this is an isolated event.

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Just reading what the students have on their computers would make me think this is an isolated event.