\n<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The shooting swiftly raised concerns of a potential act of political violence, but authorities announced late Wednesday that the suspected shooter \u2014 Dana Thompson of Hammond, Indiana \u2014 had been targeting a relative, according to Shorewood police. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Several hours later and a few blocks away, another homeowner found damage from a gunshot, police said. <\/p>\n
Neighborhood security videos helped detectives track down a suspect who was taken into custody later Tuesday, police said.<\/p>\n
Thompson, 32, admitted to the shootings and told investigators she had been looking for a relative, according to police, who underscored that it \u201cwas not a politically motivated event in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loughran Cappel issued a statement saying her home was hit in the \u201cdeeply troubling incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family and I are safe and I\u2019m thankful that no one was hurt,\u201d the third-term state senator said. \u201cAt times like these, I am reminded of how precious peace and safety are in our communities. Violence is never the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated possession of a firearm in a vehicle. <\/p>\n
The shooting happened less than a week after the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Gov. JB Pritzker has renewed his call for calm<\/a> amid escalating political tension nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Pritzker said earlier this week. \u201cDemocracy is really the method by which we avoid political violence, and I think over the course of the history of the United States, that\u2019s been what makes this country great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n