Cops hope salons might help them identify Tinley Park shooting suspect

Investigators in the shooting deaths of five women inside a suburban Chicago clothing store were contacting hair salons and barber shops in the hopes of finding one that may have braided the hair of the gunman, authorities said Tuesday.

Tinley Park police's announcement comes a day after the department released a description of the gunman as having a braid of hair hanging across his cheek decorated with light green beads.

Meanwhile, police on Tuesday confirmed for the first time that a woman did survive Saturday morning's shooting rampage during a robbery attempt at the Lane Bryant store, as has been widely reported. Commander Rick Bruno said that the woman was being interviewed by police.

More Coverage Stories Family claims daughter survived Tinley Park shooting [02/05/08] FBI stepping in to help search for Tinley Park mall shooter [02/04/08] Family members mourn 5 women killed in clothing store [02/04/08] Lane Bryant parent company offers reward [02/04/08] Video Police Hunt for Man Who Killed 5 Tinley Park Mayor Edward Zabrocki said the woman was in protective custody. Bruno would say only that the department had taken steps to ensure the safety of the woman.It has been reported widely that the parents of the woman who survived have said that their daughter escaped serious injury when the bullet meant for her head struck her neck. And on Tuesday, Zabrocki said that he learned from police that the woman apparently moved her head just as the gunman was pulling the trigger, causing the bullet to graze her neck."She moved her head and it (the bullet) just missed it," he said.The parents were also quoted in a Kentucky newspaper as saying the other women were shot in the head. The Associated Press is not naming the woman or her parents because authorities have not confirmed the details of the shooting.Statements made by police to the family of at least one of the victims suggest that the women were all shot in the head."Her mother, when she was at the police station, they told her that they did not suffer, they died instantly," said Sandra McGhee, a close friend of the store's manager, Rhoda McFarland, who was killed.Messages left at the home of the survivor's parents, who now live in Kentucky, and their daughter's home in Illinois were not immediately returned Tuesday. Another family member in Kentucky declined to comment, saying that police had asked the woman's relatives not to discuss the case.