A suburban mother was fighting for her life late Thursday after authorities said she was shot by her neighbor in an alleged hate-fueled incident. NBC Chicago’s Randy Gyllenhaal reports.
Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
A suburban mother is fighting for her life after she was shot by her neighbor in an alleged hate-fueled incident, authorities said..
John Shadbar, 70, of Lockport Township, is facing nine felony charges, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, felony possession of a firearm and a hate crime after he allegedly shot his neighbor, Melissa Robertson.
Robertson's family said that they have been subject to harassment and racial slurs from Shadbar since around the time they moved to the area 10 years ago. Both of Robertson's sons are Black.
“She is fighting for her life right now over hate…over hate,” her sister Theresa Robertson-Proano told NBC Chicago.
Shadbar was denied pretrial release by a Will County judge on Thursday.
“This did not need to happen at all. Not just our lives, but his life and his wife’s and our neighbors are all affected by it,” Mikeal Johnson, Robertson's son, said.
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The shooting occurred at around 5:30 p.m. outside of Robertson's Lockport Township home near the intersection of 144th Place and Rickerman Road, authorities said.
Robertson's family said her 8-year-old son witnessed the shooting.
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“He was yelling dead N (word) – he was trying to get into the backyard,” Robertson's aunt, Jeanne Beyer, said.
Family told NBC Chicago that Shadbar would often fire his gun in his yard and had also thrown fireworks across the fence between the two homes.
"Dead n-words, n-word this, n-word lover. Called me the n-word straight to my face. My mom made him apologize, a few days later he comes out holding a gun in his underwear," Johnson said.
Robertson’s family said she felt threatened and called police numerous times, adding that while reports were taken, though nothing was done.
"They would say unfortunately as wrong and hateful as it is, it's freedom of speech and nothing they can do," Johnson said.
NBC Chicago reached out to the Will County Sheriff's Office in reference to past complaints at the location, and have yet to hear back.
“There are a lot of things that I feel, and we all feel should have been done. Why they were not, I don’t know the details,” Beyer said. “Why did he have no consequences? It was not a one-time thing. He has been doing this for years.”
In court, prosecutors said investigators took several weapons from Shadbar’s home and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
According to prosecutors, Shadbar was ineligible for a FOID card due to a felony conviction from the 1970s.
Family said Robertson's recovery could take months, with an online fundraiser started for her benefit.
"She's sedated due to the gravity of her injuries. She had a lot of pain," Johnson said.
