Woman fatally shoots state trooper in Lisle cigar lounge, wounds 2 more, kills self
Editor's note: This story has been changed to include new information Sunday from acting Lisle Police Chief Ron Wilke that police have learned McMullan and the slain trooper did not attend the same high school in the 1980s, as authorities originally reported.
A 51-year-old woman shot and killed one retired state police officer and wounded two other troopers before taking her own life Friday night in a Lisle cigar lounge, police said.
Retired Trooper Gregory Rieves, 51, died after Lisa V. McMullan of Chicago suddenly pulled out a gun inside a room of the lounge and shot the three others at close range, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said at a Saturday morning news conference.
Off-duty Trooper Kaiton Bullock, 48, who has been with the force 22 years and is assigned to District Chicago, is hospitalized in serious but stable condition. Retired Special Agent Lloyd Graham, 55, suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized and stable, officials said.
"Obviously for the men and women who serve in the Illinois State Police, it's part and parcel of their job to have to deal with crime, violence and difficult circumstances on a regular basis," said Kelly, at the press briefing from the DuPage County coroner's office. "It is not always expected that while they're off duty that they may have to face that type of violence."
Kelly, flanked by DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen and DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin, addressed news of the retired trooper's death "with much sadness and a heavy heart," he said.
Rieves retired in March 2019 after a 25-year career with state police.
"I think he's someone who was well-loved by all those who worked with him," Kelly said. "He was known to be a great personality and many people thought very fondly of him."
Kelly asked the public to keep Graham and Bullock - who are recovering at local hospitals with their loved ones - in their prayers.
Lisle police officers responded about 10:13 p.m. to the Humidor of Lisle, 1600 Ogden Ave., for a report of a shooting in progress. They arrived one minute later.
Responding officers found the woman dead at the scene and later identified her as McMullan, of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. She has no known criminal history and no known local contacts with Lisle police. Acting Lisle Police Chief Ron Wilke said Sunday that police have learned McMullan and the slain trooper did not attend the same high school in the 1980s, as authorities originally reported.
"They have also been known to frequent the humidor cigar lounge at the same time," police said in a statement Saturday night. "But we have not determined if their relationship was more than just acquaintances."
McMullan had a valid Firearm Owners Identification card and a concealed carry license through the Illinois State Police.
A total of seven bullets were recovered by police, including the one McMullan used to take her life.
The three victims were taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and Edward Hospital in Naperville. Rieves died in the hospital.
Police said they would not interview the surviving victims until at least Monday to allow them to recover and rest from their surgeries.
"At that time any connection between the suspect and the victims will be looked into," police said in the statement.
Earlier Saturday, Wilke said the shooter knew the victims, but investigators were not yet sure of the extent of their relationship.
"We are continuing to investigate a possible motive, but we cannot provide one as of yet," Wilke said in an email.
The shooting was captured on a surveillance video and was reviewed by officers at the scene. It shows several people seated in a media room watching a big-screen television.
Without apparent provocation, a woman seated in a chair behind the victims stands up, draws a handgun and shoots the first male victim in the back of the head, police said in a news release. She then fires several rounds at two additional male victims, before fatally shooting herself in the head.
The shooting was contained to a single room within the building and no other people were injured or involved, police said.
The cigar lounge remained closed Saturday.
"We look at all our customers as family and we ask you to pray for the victim and the speedy healing of the injured," a Humidor Facebook post stated.
Several area police departments assisted with the response and investigation, including the DuPage Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigation Team, the DuPage County state's attorney's office and DuPage coroner's office, police said.
"The quick thinking, decisive action by Lisle PD Officers and all responding personnel in this case is to be commended," Lisle police said in the Saturday night statement. "They acted without regard for their own safety, and entered a chaotic and dangerous scene not knowing what they were going to encounter. Their courage is to be applauded!
"Our hearts are heavy for the loss and injuries to our ISP colleagues, and they remain in our thoughts as we conduct this investigation."
Lisle Trustee Sara Sadat said Saturday night that she learned about the shooting at the airport after returning from an overseas trip.
"It hurts my heart to have to address this act of senseless violence," she said in an emailed statement. "My husband and I are regulars at that lounge. ... My heart and thoughts are in Lisle with the families of the victims of this senseless crime."
The cigar lounge will remain closed Sunday, but a group of its regular patrons will hold a vigil for Rieves outside the business at 10 a.m., the Sun-Times reported.
• Daily Herald staff writers James Kane and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.