A gunfight outside the Kankakee County Courthouse left two people dead and a third seriously wounded Thursday morning, in what police described as a feud among men tied to the same gang.
The shooting erupted after Miguel Andrade, Victor Andrade and an unnamed man exited the courthouse about 9:45 a.m. and were approached by Antonio Hernandez, who was in possession of multiple weapons, authorities said. According to police, Hernandez began firing at the men, fatally shooting Victor Andrade in the street and the unnamed man on the sidewalk.
Kankakee police Chief Robin Passwater said Miguel Andrade then grabbed a firearm from his car and began chasing Hernandez, sparking a running gun battle on the courthouse lawn. Hernandez, 24, was fatally shot in a nearby parking lot.
A Momence police officer, who was at the courthouse, confronted Miguel Andrade in the parking lot and he surrendered, Passwater said. Miguel Andrade, 23, is in custody at the Kankakee County Jail, where records show he has been charged with murder and possession of a stolen firearm.
“I've been here 20 years and never seen anything like this before."
“It’s shocking for us to see that,” Passwater said of a shooting occurring so close to an area with a heavy police presence. “It just shows what’s going on nationwide ... there’s no respect for others’ lives.”
Authorities also apprehended a young man who ran away from the scene when the shooting started, as did many others outside the courthouse, according to witnesses.
Police now believe the man was not involved in the slayings, but he remains in custody on an unrelated case. Jail records show a 19-year-old fitting his description is being held on $200 bond after failing to appear in traffic court earlier this week.
Passwater said the four men involved in the gunfight have ties to the same gang, but it’s unclear if they all were current members or how well they knew each other. The Andrades both lived in Kankakee, while Hernandez is believed to be from Waukegan, according to police.
No details were released about the wounded man, who underwent surgery after the shooting.
Passwater said investigators do not believe the shooting had any connection to the criminal case that brought the Andrades and their companion to the courthouse. Court records show that Victor Andrade, 26, had been charged earlier this year with possession of child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child younger than 5 years old. He had a court appearance scheduled to take place 15 minutes prior to the gun battle, records show.
Though police said they did not know how the Andrades were related, they are listed as brothers in an obituary for Alex Andrade, a 24-year-old Kankakee man who was fatally shot in his home earlier this year. Passwater said he did not believe Thursday’s gunfight was connected to any recent homicides in Kankakee.
Multiple firearms were recovered from the scene, including a long gun, Passwater said. The FBI, Illinois State Police and sheriff’s department are assisting in the investigation, according to the city.
“It’s a tragic event for the people of the city of Kankakee,” Passwater said shortly after the shooting. “We are going to do our best to solve it.”
A Kankakee resident, who came to the courthouse to file her mother’s will, told the Chicago Tribune she heard the shots as she exited the building. Police nearby told her to duck as she saw a man firing a gun.
“As I came out, I heard a pop,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “He was in the parking lot by the old jail and he was walking backward ... and was (shooting).”
Police ordered everyone inside the building and kept people there for about an hour, she said. Authorities ushered bystanders out the north doors, keeping them away from the crime scene and blocking access to the parking lot closest to the shooting site.
Several streets around the stately courthouse about 60 miles south of downtown Chicago were closed as a precaution after the shooting. Nearby schools were also placed on lockdown.
At Lori’s Diner, a coffee shop popular with courthouse personnel and attorneys, the deadly incident was a topic of conversation all morning. The staff members didn’t hear the gun shots, but heard talk about it all morning.
“I’ve been here 20 years and never seen anything like this before,” server Jennifer Winkle said.
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