Shootout At Rockford Motel Leaves 2 Dead, Including Shooter

ROCKFORD, IL — It began with a shooting, became firefight, and ended after hours of standoff with an apparent suicide. But even before bullets began to fly, the Rockford officers who initially responded to a domestic violence complaint at Super 8 early Sunday morning found a situation "chaotic at best," said Police Chief Dan O’Shea.

In a news conference Monday, O'Shea identified Antonio Wilson, 35, of Freeport, as the suspected shooter behind the chaos at the motel. After a six-hour standoff, Wilson was discovered dead inside his room, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

The chaos began with a 911 call for a domestic violence complaint. When officers arrived at the Super 8, O'Shea said the caller was in the lobby to meet them. Wilson "appeared in the lobby of the hotel and began firing on the victims," O'Shea said.

"The officers did exactly what they were trained to do," he continued. "They handled it extremely well, I couldn't be more proud."

Wilson's gunfire struck three victims, police said, leaving two women, aged 34 and 46, in critical condition, and a 19-year-0ld man dead. As officers arrived to clear the motel, O'Shea said Wilson again opened fire, not only surprising officers — who did not know he was still inside the motel — but using "a weapon that was penetrating walls, interior walls, exterior walls."

O'Shea did not identify the weapon or rounds used by Wilson, but he said it was "very concerning" for officers who rely on ballistic protection. O'Shea noted that protective vests are rated differently for rounds fired by pistols or higher-powered rifles.

The standoff ended at around 6:30 a.m., when officers blasted into Wilson's room and found him dead. The five officers who fired on Wilson during incident have been placed on administrative leave, though O'Shea said he "fully expects" them to return to work after the investigation is complete.