Green Beret Charged in Shooting Spree Was Visiting Family, Prosecutor Says
The Army Green Beret charged with opening fire with two pistols at a bowling alley and restaurant in Rockford, Ill., over the weekend, killing three people and wounding three others, was on leave and visiting family members, the county prosecutor said on Monday. He declined to comment on a possible motive.
The Green Beret, Sgt. Duke Webb, assigned to the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group based in Florida, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, J. Hanley, the Winnebago County state’s attorney, said at a news conference on Monday.
At an initial hearing earlier in the day, Sergeant Webb, 37, pleaded not guilty and was denied release on bond, said his lawyer, Elizabeth Bucko.
Ms. Bucko said there was some indication that Sergeant Webb had post-traumatic stress disorder or a brain injury, but she could not confirm that until after he had been evaluated by a doctor.
Mr. Hanley described a frantic scene at the bowling alley, called Don Carter Lanes, as a gunman firing with two pistols shot randomly at patrons shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The bowling alley portion of the establishment was closed because of coronavirus restrictions, but an upstairs restaurant, ventilated by garage-door-style openings, was open for business, with about 20 people eating and drinking, the police said.
Mr. Hanley said the gunman first shot at a table where teenagers sat, wounding two of them, then continued to fire as he moved upstairs. By the time police officers responded, he had discarded his weapons, Mr. Hanley said.
The prosecutor said Sergeant Webb admitted to the shooting and told officers who took him into custody where he had put his guns — a .40-caliber Glock and .380-caliber Glock. Mr. Hanley said they were recovered from behind Sergeant Webb’s bag, but that neither was military-issued.
Three men were killed. They were identified by the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office on Monday as Thomas Furseth, 65, of Machesney Park, Ill.; and Jerome Woodford, 69, and Dennis Steinhoff, 73, both from Rockford, a city of nearly 150,000 people about 90 miles northwest of Chicago.
Two victims remained in critical condition, Mr. Hanley said: a 14-year-old boy who was shot in the face and a 65-year-old man who had multiple gunshot wounds. A 16-year-old girl who was shot in the shoulder was treated at a hospital and later released.
“We believe this is a completely random act,” Dan O’Shea, the Rockford police chief, said at a news conference on Sunday. He said there was no known association between the gunman and the victims.
Regina Maschke, whose father was Mr. Steinhoff, was at home when she got a text from her niece telling her about the shooting. Her father had been to her house for dinner and left shortly after 5 p.m. to meet his friends at Shooters, the bar above the bowling alley, where she said her father was a regular.
“He felt safe there,” Ms. Maschke said, adding that Mr. Steinhoff went several times a week to watch horse races and to socialize. “That was his home away from home.”
Mr. Steinhoff was a Vietnam War veteran who worked for years as a union committee man for Chrysler, until he retired at 55. He loved sports, especially basketball, and before the coronavirus pandemic, frequently traveled to referee games.
“My dad was the most loving, giving, selfless person in the world,” Ms. Maschke said. “This man took innocent, wonderful people from their families, and they can never be replaced. It’s very traumatizing.”
Witnesses described a nightmarish scene of gunshots and screaming.
Matt Rider and his girlfriend, Amanda Hollenbeck, had gone to the bar on Saturday to watch the San Francisco 49ers play the Arizona Cardinals. They were upstairs and had just ordered drinks when they heard a popping sound from downstairs, Mr. Rider said.
The couple ran to an outdoor balcony, where they huddled with about 10 others, called 911 and discussed whether they should jump. At least one man did, Mr. Rider said. The rest, Ms. Hollenbeck said, were “basically waiting chickens.”
A few minutes later, as the police arrived, Mr. Rider said he heard the shots coming from somewhere closer — somewhere upstairs. He said that he could hear bullets hitting the balcony, and that one person who had been sheltering there was killed.
“There was just a lot of screaming and yelling in all kinds of different directions,” he said. “People were freaking out.”
Ms. Hollenbeck said she heard about 30 gunshots before the police arrived. “It was loud,” she added. “It was scary. It was hurtful.”
Later, when police officers guided the couple past a lifeless body and downstairs to safety, Mr. Rider said that he saw “blood everywhere.”
“You could tell that he knew what he was doing,” Mr. Rider said of the gunman. “Just the rate of fire he had, his aim that he had, how quickly he moved around the restaurant.”
Sergeant Webb joined the Army in 2008 and is a special forces assistant operations and intelligence sergeant assigned to the Third Battalion, the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Camp Arthur “Bull” Simons at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the Army said on Sunday.
Maj. Gen. John Brennan, the commander of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), said in a statement on Sunday night that the actions Sergeant Webb was accused of “are abhorrent and are absolutely not representative of the Special Forces Regiment.”
“The vast majority of men and women Green Berets live up to their storied reputation and earn their beret every day,” General Brennan said. “The actions described in reports are shocking and are completely out of character with Webb’s 12 years of honorable service.”
He added, “Our heavy hearts and prayers are with the families affected.”
Christina Morales, Bryan Pietsch and Jacey Fortin contributed reporting.
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