A woman who allegedly fired a gunshot earlier this week at the home of a Shorewood state lawmaker was not politically motivated, according to police in the far southwest suburb.
Democratic state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel found a bullet hole in her home early Tueday, soon after three shots were fired at another home nearby, authorities said. No one was hurt.
The shooting swiftly raised concerns of a potential act of political violence, but authorities announced late Wednesday that the suspected shooter — Dana Thompson of Hammond, Indiana — had been targeting a relative, according to Shorewood police.
Officers were called at 4:50 a.m. after someone heard gunshots in a neighborhood of the village about 45 miles southwest of Chicago, according to a statement from Shorewood police.
They didn’t find anything, but another resident called two hours later after finding three bullet holes on the exterior of their house, apparently from a small-caliber weapon, police said.
Several hours later and a few blocks away, another homeowner found damage from a gunshot, police said.
Neighborhood security videos helped detectives track down a suspect who was taken into custody later Tuesday, police said.
Thompson, 32, admitted to the shootings and told investigators she had been looking for a relative, according to police, who underscored that it “was not a politically motivated event in any way.”
Loughran Cappel issued a statement saying her home was hit in the “deeply troubling incident.”
“My family and I are safe and I’m thankful that no one was hurt,” the third-term state senator said. “At times like these, I am reminded of how precious peace and safety are in our communities. Violence is never the answer.”
Thompson faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated possession of a firearm in a vehicle.
The shooting happened less than a week after the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Gov. JB Pritzker has renewed his call for calm amid escalating political tension nationwide.
“The truth is that the number of threats and the number of people who seem to want to engage in political violence has increased substantially, and I would like very much for people to just take a breath, take a step back,” Pritzker said earlier this week. “Democracy is really the method by which we avoid political violence, and I think over the course of the history of the United States, that’s been what makes this country great.”
