Shots fired at Illinois lawmaker’s home in ‘deeply troubling’ early morning attack

Gunshots were fired at the home of an Illinois state senator in what police described as a ‘deeply troubling’ attack.

Illinois State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel and her family were jolted awake early Tuesday morning by the sound of gunfire as bullets struck their Shorewood home.

The Democratic lawmaker, who represents a suburban area southwest of Chicago, confirmed the shooting in a Facebook statement on Wednesday, calling it ‘a deeply troubling incident.’ 

Authorities say her home was hit three times by bullets from a small-caliber firearm just before dawn on September 16. 

‘In the early hours of Tuesday morning, my family and I experienced a deeply troubling incident when a shot was fired directly at our home,’ the senator wrote on Facebook. 

‘I am grateful to Chief Arnold, law enforcement and investigators for their work detaining a suspect and working diligently to get to the bottom of this.’ 

‘I’m thankful that no one was hurt,’ Cappel said. ‘My family and I are safe, and I’m thankful that no one was hurt. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigation.

‘At times like these, I am reminded of how precious peace and safety are in our communities. Violence is never the answer. We must do what we can to ensure our communities are safe,’ she added.

The apparent attack on an elected official’s residence immediately raised concerns about political violence amid a nationwide surge in threats targeting public servants.

But police say the senator and her family were not the intended targets.

The first 911 call came at 6:50am, according to Shorewood Police. 

Officers raced to the neighborhood, where they ‘observed a residence struck three times from what appeared to be a small caliber firearm.’

That residence was later confirmed to be the home of Senator Loughran Cappel.

Later that morning, another nearby resident contacted police to report gunshots and exterior damage to their home from a single round raising fears of a coordinated or random shooting spree.

‘Based on evidence obtained from both residences, and with the assistance of our local, state, and federal law enforcement officials, the firearm used appears to be consistent in both incidents, pending confirmation by lab analysis,’ Shorewood Police said in a statement.

Thanks to neighborhood security cameras and license plate recognition technology, investigators quickly identified a suspect vehicle.

Less than 36 hours later, 32-year-old Dana Thompson of Hammond, Indiana, was arrested in Lansing, Illinois after her license plate was flagged by an LPR system.

‘Thanks to the help of many neighbors sharing their videos with us, our officers and detectives were able to identify the vehicle and suspect involved in this morning’s shootings,’ police said on Tuesday night. 

Thompson was transported back to Shorewood, where she confessed multiple times to the shootings, according to officials.

‘She told officers (several times) that her intended target was a relative that lives in the area,’ the department noted. 

‘Investigators were able to determine the address of the relative, and an interview with that relative confirmed the relationship and their subsequent multi-year estrangement.’

In a press release issued Wednesday evening, Shorewood Police confirmed that Cappel’s home was not the intended target, and that the shooting ‘was NOT a politically motivated event in any way.’

The revelation came after growing public concern that the attack may have been part of a rising wave of political violence, especially in the wake of last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the fatal shootings of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband over the summer.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker had recently acknowledged a surge in threats, telling reporters, ‘Threats to my office have increased since the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk last week.’

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon also weighed in, expressing support for Cappel while investigations continued.

‘I am grateful that Senator Loughran Cappel and her family are safe,’ Harmon said via a spokesperson. ‘She has the full support of Senate Democrats as the police continue their investigation.’ 

Despite assurances that the incident wasn’t politically motivated, it has rattled nerves across Springfield and Washington. 

On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) delayed the rollout of a stopgap government funding bill, citing ongoing negotiations to boost security for members of Congress in response to increasing threats.

‘More than 9,400 direct threats and concerning statements were reported in 2024,’ according to U.S. Capitol Police – more than double the number from 2017.

Thompson now faces multiple charges including aggravated discharge of a firearm and the unlawful use of a weapon.

She was booked into the Will County Adult Detention Facility and is awaiting a pre-trial release hearing under Illinois’ new SAFE-T Act guidelines.

‘Residents can be assured that there is no further threat from this person,’ Shorewood Police said, adding that more details would be released when available.

‘This incident was NOT a politically motivated event in any way, and Thompson was not at the house she intended to target,’  a department spokesperson stressed.

Cappel, a former special education teacher, was elected to the state Senate in 2020 and represents Illinois’ 49th District, which includes Joliet, Plainfield, Romeoville, Naperville, and other suburban communities southwest of Chicago.