Police: Illinois man found dead after shooting wife, killing in-laws

NEW CANTON, Ill. (WAND) - Police found a woman shot and her parents dead in separate homes in a western Illinois town Thursday, according to the Pike County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Zach Orr said they received a call about a shooting in New Canton around 6 a.m. Thursday morning. When they arrived at the home they found a woman inside who had been shot.

New Canton is approximately 60 miles west of Jacksonville near the Mississippi River.

Orr said the victim said she had been shot by her husband and that he made comments to her about also harming her parents.

Police went to her parents home in New Canton and found both of them dead.

Illinois State Police identified the shooter as 67-year-old Gerald Waligorski.

During the investigation, law enforcement and other first responders began looking for Waligorski. Residents in the small town of approximately 350 people were told to stay inside and lock their doors.

Two area school districts activated separate security measures.

Police said they surrounded Waligorski's house for nearly five hours. He was eventually found dead inside.

It's unclear the condition of the woman who was shot. ISP said she was air-lifted to a hospital.

The shooting is still under investigation.