82-year-old Bartlett woman injured in home invasion

Bartlett police are hunting for a suspect in a home invasion this morning that left an 82-year-old woman hospitalized with nonlife threatening injuries and led to the brief lockdown of a nearby grade school.

Police and members of the Bartlett Fire Protection District responded to the reported home invasion about 10:10 a.m. at a townhouse in the 1600 block of Chelmsford Court, near Mayflower Lane and Schick Road.

Police said the home's resident discovered an unknown man had entered the townhouse through her open garage door as she took out the garbage. The man reportedly began to fondle himself, then grabbed the victim and knocked her down while leaving through the home's front door.

The woman was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates for treatment.

The suspect was described as a white male, about 30 years old, wearing blue jeans, a gray jacket, a green baseball hat and sunglasses. He was described as walking with a limp and is believed to have fled in a beige- or gold-colored Jeep vehicle that had been parked in the center parking area of Chelmsford Court.

Elgin Area Unit District 46 placed Prairieview Elementary School on a “secure building status” at 11 a.m. while police conducted a search for the suspect with the assistance of Hanover Park Police Department and the Chicago Police Department/Cook County Sheriff's Department helicopter unit. School officials lifted the lockdown about 10 minutes later.

According to a message from the school's principal, normal school activities continued during the brief lockdown and no students or staff were at risk of harm.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to immediately contact the Bartlett Police Department Investigations Section at (630) 837-0846. Police also encourage residents to call 9-1-1 if they observe suspicious activity in their neighborhood.