DeWitt County Sheriff Mike Walker said Sunday night a lone gunman remains on the loose after a shooting incident in rural Kenney left one person dead and another person injured.
As of Monday morning, Walker said authorities believe the suspect has fled the area.
Walker said officers were called to a 635 Kenney Road south of Kenney at 3:23 p.m. Sunday for a report of an active shooter.
Kenney is a town of about 300 people about 30 miles south of Bloomington-Normal.
Walker said a victim with multiple gunshot wounds was discovered in his vehicle along Illinois Route 54 and Jordan Street. They were taken to John Warner Hospital in Clinton and later transferred to Carle Hospital in Urbana where they are listed in stable condition.
Walker said sheriff’s deputies found one person had been shot to death at the residence and four others who were hiding inside the home. They made it out safely.
Walker did not identify the victims and said the four others inside the home were brought to the sheriff’s department’s incident command center at the Kenney Fire Department for interviews.
“Considering what they’ve been through today, they are doing relatively well,” Walker said to reporters during a Facebook Live feed.
Walker identified the suspect as Jose Dejesus Gomez Munoz and said he goes by “Jesus.” He described him as an Hispanic male, 5-feet-6, 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
The sheriff said the suspect fled the scene in a white 2019 Honda Accord with the Illinois registration DT50632. Walker said Munoz is wanted for murder and other felony charges.
Walker displayed for reporters a mugshot of Munoz that he said was taken from a previous case.
“We will find him at some point. We will catch him and we will bring him to justice,” Walker said. The sheriff added he did not know where the suspect may have fled, but suggested he could be on his way to Mexico where he said Munoz has unspecified family or an acquaintance. He said there is no indication of activity on Munoz’s phone since around the time of the incident.
“He could be a long way away, he could be in the area. We don’t know,” Walker said, adding anyone who sees him or the car matching the description to call their local law enforcement agency.
Walker had previously urged residents within a two-mile radius to shelter in place. In a social media post on Monday morning, the department said anyone who was asked to leave their residences were able to return.
"Due to the time that has lapsed since the incident yesterday afternoon, we believe the suspect is no longer in the area," the post said.
Walker said officers with Illinois State Police, Illinois Conservation Police, Clinton Police and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office have assisted in the search.
