Two men have been charged with exchanging gunfire at an Oak Brook mall two days before Christmas, wounding five people and sending thousands of last-minute shoppers running for cover.
Bail was set at $1 million each for the suspects: Tyran Williams, 32, charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and Steve Lane, 29, charged with aggravated battery, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Tyran Williams and Steve LaneDuPage County sheriff’s office
Williams and Lane fired at each other near Auntie Anne’s pretzel store at Oakbrook Center after an argument broke out between Williams and Lane’s companion, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Williams, 32, was hit four times, while three women and a man who were in the area were also wounded. Lane, 29, and his companion fled after the shooting.
A total of 12 shots were fired in the gun battle, Berlin said. Mall security estimates that between 15,000 and 20,000 people were in the mall at the time.
Williams and Lane’s companion knew each other and had had a disagreement “some time ago” over a social media post, Berlin said, but it wasn’t immediately clear if that led to the shooting.
Police released a surveillance image of Lane’s companion after the shootout, but Berlin said there is no evidence he was one of the gunmen. Berlin said prosecutors have spoken to the man’s attorney and expect to speak with him soon.
Investigators recovered a 9mm Glock that Williams dropped, and a 9mm Taurus handgun — teal in color — on the ground near Nordstrom’s in the direction Lane had fled, Berlin said. The guns were matched to Williams and Lane through DNA testing, with evidence showing Williams fired five times and Lane seven.
Cuffs on William’s and Lane’s jackets tested positive for gunshot residue, Berlin said.
Both men are from Chicago. Williams has a prior drug conviction from 2016 in Cook County that resulted in probation, while Lane has a previous misdemeanor conviction, Berlin said.
“The facts allege in this case that on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, at the second largest shopping mall in the Chicago area, that these two defendants decided to settle a verbal argument by taking out handguns and firing multiple times with thousands of men, women children and families present are evidence of an unconscionable degree of violence and a complete and utter disregard for the safety of the public,” Berlin said.
