Chicago Area Local News

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (CBS) ― Police say they will stop at nothing to bring a shooter who killed five women in a Tinley Park Lane Bryant to justice. CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports the family of one of the victims is in shock after receiving the news.

The Will County coroner's office confirmed five are dead from the shooting at the Lane Bryant store in the Brookside Marketplace Shopping Center, at 7264 W. 191st St., just south of Interstate 80.

When police arrived, they found multiple victims shot, Tinley Park police Sgt. T.J. Grady said. Police believe the suspect gathered the women in a back area of the store before killing them.

"The motive in this case was a robbery, and at some point, it went rather poorly," Grady said.

The first call of shots fired came into police at 10:44 a.m., Grady said. Grady said the store was open at the time of the shootings. 

In a press conference Saturday night, Tinley Park Police Chief Mike O'Connell said at least one of those killed was a Lane Bryant employee.

He said the five women killed range in age from 22 to 37. Four were from suburban Chicago, while one was from South Bend, Indiana. Carrie Hudek, 33, a social worker, was shopping at the store when she was shot. She was identified by a friend.

"[She] was the most the wonderful, loving person who did everything for anybody,'' said Jennifer Hudek, her sister-in-law, outside Hudek's Frankfort home.

All of the victims have been transported to the Will County coroner's office. Authorities are still trying to reach the other victims' families.

Police searched neighboring stores in the center, and used a police helicopter to search the surrounding area, Grady said. Cars in the parking lot were also searched.

Witnesses said police locked down neighboring stores in the center and searched the stores with guns drawn. The emergency closed at least 10 stores in the area for about an hour, frightening employees and customers.

"We kind of like didn't know what was going on," said Mike Jones, an employee of the Taco Bell adjacent to the retail store. "They told us to evacuate where we were."

Lupe Olmos was shopping in the area when stores were placed on lockdown during the search for the gunman.

"I'm in the dressing room and she reports that she's the wife of a manager and there's a shooter on the loose and that the store is getting locked down. And at that point, I'm like' holy cow.' I'm gonna stay put; everybody's in a panic." Olmos said. 

A manhunt launched shortly afterward leads police to believe the suspect had left the Tinley Park area.

"Immediately after the incident was reported, we had an officer respond within a minute. We saw no suspicious activity at that time," O'Connell said.

How the gunman was able to walk into the store and pull the trigger and able to leave the area are just two of the questions investigators are asking Saturday night.

"They are taking it very methodically," Grady said about the search for the suspect that was described as an African-American male of medium complexion, standing 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 230 to 260 pounds, with a black knit cap, a black waist-length winter coat, and dark jeans. A witness outside the store gave the description of the individual, according to police.

Greg Grace of Frankfort, who was in the parking lot outside Lane Bryant, said he saw several stretchers being wheeled into the store. The stretchers later were wheeled out — carrying no patients. Two large county vans backed up to the front of the building Saturday afternoon and a white canopy was placed over the front of the building.

"We're very sad about it," a clearly shaken Mayor Edward Zabrocki said from the scene. "It's ... we're a victim of our society that we live in."

Police were allowing some shoppers into parts of the strip mall Saturday afternoon, but had cordoned off the Lane Bryant store.

Patricia May says her daughter shops at the store all the time, and could have been there when it happened.

"My daughter is a Lane Bryant junkie," May said. "I went home to call her because she was supposed to meet me at Best Buy and when I came over here, they said it's a crime scene and I went 'yeah, right.'"

Saturday evening, a tow truck removed two vehicles near the scene, and police say they'll be reviewing surveillance tapes from other stores in an almost two mile radius of the Lane Bryant to see if the suspect stopped anywhere prior to the shooting. They're hoping the evidence on those tapes will help them find who is responsible for the crimes since the Lane Bryant store did not have a surveillance camera.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department is helping with the investigation, said spokeswoman Penny Mateck. Police from several agencies that make up the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force are investigating.

Messages left at Lane Bryant Brand headquarters were not immediately returned.

Violent crime in this south suburb is very rare. There has only been one murder in the past eight years, and that was in 1999.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said in a written statement, "there is no imaginable justification for the deadly and random violence that stole those innocent lives in Tinley Park today. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and the many people who witnessed the tragedy."

The governor also promised help from state law enforcement agencies in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tinley Park police at (708) 444-5368. 

The Will County Coroner's Office has scheduled autopsies for Sunday and they'll hold a briefing at 2 p.m. with an update.
WBBM Newsradio 780, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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