An Army sergeant was charged in the Illinois bowling alley this weekend that caused three deaths and three other injuries, officials announced Sunday.
Authorities charged Duke Webb, a 37-year-old active-duty Army sergeant in Shalimar, Florida, with three counts of first-degree homicide and three counts of first-degree murder. He is being held in the Winnebago County Jail without bail, with his first court hearing scheduled for Monday at 1:30 p.m., according to prison records.
In Rockford, Illinois, Police Chief Dan O’Shea identified Webb during a press conference, saying officials did not believe there was a connection between the suspect and any of the victims of Saturday’s shooting.
“We believe it was a completely random act and there is no prior meeting or any kind of relationship between the suspect and any of the victims in this case,” O’Shea said.
Webb is an operations intelligence sergeant and special forces assistant assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), located at Bull Simons Camp, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, according to one Army statement. He joined the army in 2008 and was on leave when the shooting occurred.
“We are surprised and saddened to learn of this tragic event and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the dead and wounded,” Colonel John W. Sannes, commander of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), said in a statement.
The shooting it occurred at Don Carter Lanes, a bowling alley and a bar, and left three men aged 73, 65 and 69 dead. The suspect also injured a 62-year-old man in critical condition, a 14-year-old boy who was taken to a Madison hospital and a 16-year-old girl who was treated and released from a local hospital.
O’Shea said officers arrived within a minute after receiving several calls to 911. The suspect was arrested several minutes after police arrived without any officers firing weapons.
The Rockford Register Star previously reported that this year has been the deadliest year for the city since 1965, with 35 homicides. The next maximum was 31 documented homicides in 1996.