Three dead in Halloween party shootings in Illinois, Texas

Police in Texas and Illinois are investigating two shootings that left three dead and about 20 wounded during Halloween festivities this weekend.

The Texarkana Police Department reported on Sunday that officers arrested a suspect connected to a Halloween party shooting on Saturday that left one dead and nine others injured. 

Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Keuntae McElroy, and said he was charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, with more charges likely soon. 

At least several hundred people are believed to have been in Octavia’s Event Center near the Texas-Arkansas border when the shooting took place, police said.

Police said that victims were transported to two hospitals, and that a 20-year-old man later died. Police noted that the injuries of the nine others “do not currently appear to [be] life threatening.” 

“While the motive is still unknown, the preliminary investigation indicates that it may [have] been the result of some type of disturbance among some [of] the partygoers,” police said on Facebook. 

A separate shooting at a Halloween party in Illinois left at least 12 people injured and two dead. The Will County Sheriff’s Office reported on Sunday that a patrol sergeant heard between 10 and 12 gunshots and saw at least 100 people fleeing the scene of the shooting. 

Police reported that the shooting occurred in the backyard of a residence in Joliet, Ill., close to a DJ booth. At least a dozen people were injured and taken to hospitals while two victims died from the incident. It is believed that nearly 200 people were at the Halloween party.

One suspect was described as an “average sized, Hispanic Male with facial hair,” wearing dark pants, a red hoodie and “a black flat billed hat.” The second suspect was described as “an average sized, light-skinned black male or Hispanic wearing a yellow hoodie and ski mask.”

It was not immediately clear what prompted the shooting, or if any arrests had been made.

“This investigation is in its early stages, and Will County Sheriff’s Office personnel are still on scene preserving the crime scene and collecting evidence,” police wrote on Facebook. 

Joliet is located roughly 45 miles southwest of Chicago.