Residents on a quiet street in suburban Romeoville were grieving on Monday night after an unimaginable tragedy – the murder of a young family. NBC 5’s Natalie Martinez reports.
UPDATE: Two suspects in the slaying of the Bartolomei family in Romeoville were found shot in Oklahoma, police said Wednesday during a press conference. The latest updates can be found here. Our original story continues below.
Residents on a quiet street in suburban Romeoville were grieving on Monday night after an unimaginable tragedy - the murder of a young family.
According to police, at approximately 8:43 p.m. Sunday officers were called to the 500 block of Concord Avenue for a well-being check. Upon arrival, officers discovered four deceased individuals with gunshot wounds, Deputy Chief of the Romeoville Police Department Chris Burne said.
"It's so sad, you know," neighbor Carol Love said. " But nice people. They didn’t bother anybody. I hope they find out who did it."
Officers who performed the well-being check found the bodies of the adult parents, as well as their 7-year-old and 9-year-old children. Three dogs inside the home were also found shot and killed.
"It's very said," another neighbor, Ociel Pineda, stated. "Last night I cannot sleep. I am thinking it's a lot of crazy people... lot of crazy people. I lock all the doors."
The parents were identified by authorities as Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei. The children's names have yet to be released, but were both students at Robert C. Hill Elementary School, according to a statement from Valley View Community Unit School District 365U.
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"...Two of our R.C. Hill Elementary School students tragically lost their lives in a senseless act of gun violence at their residence in Romeoville," the district's statement read, in part.
In wake of the students' deaths, the district initiated its crisis plan, which will bring a Crisis Intervention Team comprised of trained professionals, including counselors, social workers and psychologists, to assist students in need of support.
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Several neighbors told NBC Chicago that the family, who had lived at the home since April, was quiet.
The deputy chief said the department was "not actively looking" for suspects on Monday and authorities weren't asking residents to shelter in place. Police, however, are asking for anyone who saw or heard anything between 9 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday morning -- when the shooting is believed to have taken place -- to come forward.
"Hope they get them," one neighbor said. "If they did it once, they'll do it again."
