Man Threatens To Shoot Up Supermarket: Cops

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — An Evergreen Park man previously banned from a supermarket was arrested after he threatened to shoot up the store and everyone in it, prosecutors said.

Matthew Volkstorf, 25, appeared Tuesday before Cook County Judge John Mahoney on misdemeanor charges of aggravated assault and criminal trespass to property. Volkstorf also has an active order of protection against him, authorities said.

Around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Evergreen Park police answered a call regarding a disturbance at Pete’s Fresh Market, 3720 W. 95th St. The manager told police he was going to work when a man, later identified as Volkstorf, signaled that he was being watched. According to the manager, Volkstorf was asking strange questions about what was happening inside the store and if it had cameras.

When asked what he wanted, Volkstorf allegedly replied that he was "going to shoot the whole place up and everyone in the store because he no longer cared," a prosecutor said. Volkstorf’s girlfriend reportedly works at the supermarket. Police said Volkstorf had previously been issued a criminal trespass warning barring him from the premises. The order of protection is from another woman and not the current girlfriend, according to the prosecutor.

“It was just a text,” Volkstorf said.

An assistant public defender told the judge that Volkstorf has mental health issues for which he is supposed to be taking medication.

“What active shooter doesn’t have mental health issues?” Mahoney said. “There’s an order of protection. The threat of people becoming active shooters in a large public place like Pete’s, the violence there scares me.”

Bail was set at $100,000 for the aggravated assault charge and $150,000 for the criminal trespassing offense. Volkstorf’s next court date is Jan. 21 in Bridgeview.

“I think I’d be remiss in my responsibility to protecting the community if I set [bail] any lower,” the judge said.