Police: Intruder stabs two teenagers in Sleepy Hollow home

Two teens suffered “substantial injuries” Monday when they were stabbed by a man who invaded their Sleepy Hollow home, Police Chief James Linane said.

The suspect, who authorities said is unknown to the victims, is in custody, but police have not yet released his name and he has not yet been charged.

Linane said the man walked into the residence on the 900 block of Saratoga Parkway through an unlocked door. He sexually assaulted and stabbed a 19-year-old woman before stabbing her 17-year-old brother when he came to her defense, Linane said.

When the siblings escaped, the man entered an adjacent house, where he had a “confrontation” with two residents but did not injure them, Linane said.

Neighbor Michele Riedl said she tried to defuse the situation as a man came into her home and held her at knife point.

“I said, ‘Let's just talk about it and see what the problem is and fix it,” she said. “He wanted to get me in the car. ... I said, ‘No, I can't do that. We need to talk about what the problem is and fix it.' He said he was insane. He said that twice.

“And then he let go of me and walked through the yards and looked like he was going to stab my dog.”

Linane said the suspect fled after leaving the neighbor's home and later was taken into custody near Randall Road and Carrington Drive. Linane said a Taser was used to apprehend the man, who was armed with two butcher knives.

The siblings in the initial attack sought help from their neighbors, who called 911 about 12:35 p.m., Linane said. They were taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, though the boy was then airlifted elsewhere.

Their injuries were serious, he said, “but we're hearing they probably are going to make it.”

Police said they were able to identify the suspect, who appears to be in his 20s or 30s and lives locally.

The man's motive for the attack is unknown, Linane said, noting drugs or alcohol may have been involved.

Authorities are processing six different scenes in the neighborhood in what Linane called a “very fast-moving investigation.” The Kane County Major Crimes Task Force is assisting.

“The village of Sleepy Hollow is a very, very safe community. For this to happen is highly unusual,” Linane said.

Sleepy Hollow Elementary School and Dundee Middle School enacted a “shelter-in-place” protocol Monday afternoon as a precaution, Community Unit District 300 spokesman Anthony McGinn said. It was lifted by about 1:10 p.m.

• Daily Herald staff photographer Mark Welsh contributed to this report.