Local News

Lane Bryant Shooting 911 Call Released

Police, Religious Leaders Appeal To Anyone Who Might Know Suspect To Turn Him In

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (CBS) ― Rhoda McFarland whispered a final one-word plea to 911 before she was discovered by the gunman robbing her suburban Chicago Lane Bryant store and he opened fire: "Hurry."

Tinley Park authorities said the 42-year-old store manager, who was among the five women bound and fatally shot on Feb. 2 in a botched robbery, called 911 on her cell phone from inside the women's clothing store.

The recording of the call, released Monday and partially aired on "America's Most Wanted" on Saturday, offered a glimpse into the ordained minister's final moments.

"Lane Bryant," McFarland whispers to the dispatcher.

"Where at?" the female dispatcher asks.

"Tinley Park," McFarland replies. "Hurry."

"Stay on the line. Stay on the line," the dispatcher instructs. "... Don't hang up."

Then the phone goes dead.

The gunman accused of killing the five women and injuring a sixth remained at large Monday evening.

Earlier in the day, authorities and church leaders gathered to ask for information leading to his whereabouts.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports Tinley Park police insist they're not frustrated, in fact, they say they're determination increases each day to find the Lane Bryant killer. But they haven't received the big break they need, and they're hoping religious leaders can help.

"If you're listening to me right now, if you can hear my voice right now, we want you to call in and give yourself up," said Full Gospel Assembly Church Pastor Ron Wilson.

South suburban religious leaders joined area police to issue a fervent plea to the suspect in the Lane Bryant slayings asking him, or those who know him, to give him up.

"Somebody knows who this man is," said Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Rick Bruno. "Somebody knows what he looked like on February 2 and we need that person to call us."

It was 16 days ago that a lone gunman walked into the Lane Bryant store, announced a holdup, and then shot and killed the store manager and four customers. Despite the efforts of more than 50 investigators, and more than 600 tips from the public, the killer remains at large.

The situation is particularly frustrating for Brenda Mitchell, who knew shooting victim Connie Woolfolk for 20 years.

"Connie's family has not been able to experience that closure, and her children, and even the community as a whole," Mitchell said.

And she shares a tragic bond with Woolfolk. Just two years ago, Mitchell's son, Kenneth, was shot to death, an innocent bystander in a shooting at a Matteson sports bar.

"We were just getting over one extreme instance of violence only to see it repeated on a child out of the same community," Mitchell said. "So we're devastated, completely devastated."

These religious leaders say the murder suspect can turn himself in to them, in case he fears mistreatment at the hands of police. But they also emphasize that anyone who may be harboring the suspect is just as guilty as the killer himself.

Tinley Park police said they have received over 600 tips on the gunman, described as a black man, 5 feet 9 to 6 feet tall and weighing 200 to 230 pounds with thick braided hair and a receding hairline.

Authorities have searched waterways, interstate highways and placed electronic billboards in the Chicago area with a composite sketch of the gunman.

Killed in the shootings were: McFarland, of Joliet; Carrie H. Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.

A sixth woman, whom authorities have declined to name, was injured.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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