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Franklin Park cops may have prevented mass shooting

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* Tribune

A man with several weapons was taken into custody Monday in a block of Franklin Park that includes a school and a church, according to officials.

The incident began about 5 a.m., when the man was making statements on Facebook that prompted a police response, according to Franklin Park Director of Police Michael Witz. […]

“This would have hit national news had he carried out what he was going to do,” Witz said.

* This was just released by the Franklin Park Police Department…

On Monday April 1, 2019, at approximately 5 a.m. Franklin Park Officers were dispatched to St. Gertrude Church, 9613 Schiller, to check for a subject who had been communicating with a family member through texting and social media, making the family member concerned for his well-being.

Upon arriving at the Church officers located a door that was forced open and began searching the church.

Officers came upon a male subject hiding in a closet in the basement of the church, who was visibly scene possessing multiple firearms in his waist band. Officers gave the male subject several commands to not move and show his hands. The male subject then made a movement toward his waist, which resulted in officers deploying their taser, striking the male subject and knocking him to the ground. Officers then removed three handguns from his person.

While this was taking place three females had entered the church to clean and place flowers.

The male subject was transported to the police station for additional interviewing, at which time it was learned that he traveled from South Dakota where he resides, to Hoffman Estates, Illinois where he left his pickup truck and traveled to Franklin Park. Officers located two additional weapons in his pickup truck in Hoffman Estates.

The male white subject has been identified as James Orwick 28 years of age of Newell, South Dakota. It is not clear exactly what Orwick’s plans were on this day, but we believe from his text messages and social media messaging Mr. Orwick may have been a danger to our community and himself.

Because of our officers quick and decisive actions, we believe that a major tragedy was prevented.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against James Orwick with three counts of Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapon which is a class 4 felony years, two counts of Felony Resisting a Peace Officer which is a class 4 Felony and one count Felony Criminal Damage to Property a class 4 felony.

All charges are punishable by 1 to 3 years per count.

Orwick will be transported to the Cook County Maybrook Court House where he will go before a judge for his bond to be set.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 2:52 pm

Comments

  1. Nice to see a story that shares the good work done by law enforcement that keeps us all safe.

    Keep an eye on your loved ones, folks. It’s not a betrayal to speak up if they show dangerous signs of mental illness.

    Comment by AlfondoGonz Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 3:12 pm

  2. Well done Franklin Park PD. Great work.

    Comment by illini Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 3:25 pm

  3. At first I thought the scene/seen mistake was CapFax or the Trib and was horrified, but it’s in the cops statement and they probably legitimately always write [crime] “scene.” :D
    Great policework, and triple props the relative who called for help.

    Comment by Kitten Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 3:48 pm

  4. Thanks to the person who called it in. Commendations to the Franklin Park police. Cheers to whoever had the Franklin Park officers carrying a taser.

    Comment by Last Bull Moose Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 4:17 pm

  5. Great police work and great family work in this case. Hate to imagine how many lives could have been lost yesterday.

    Comment by SAP Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 4:40 pm

  6. Serious question: If he had made the statements, but not broken into the church, would the police have had probable cause to confront him?

    If he had made these statements sitting in a hotel room, could they have responsed the same way?

    Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 4:48 pm

  7. Props to the family member (and the police) for stopping this disaster.

    Since it was a church, I’m wondering why hate crimes weren’t pursued.

    Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Apr 2, 19 @ 9:16 pm

  8. @Slinger. Cops don’t need probable cause to “confront you.” This guy was reported by his family that thought he was a threat to himself or others. If he had made the same statements to the same people, a hotel probably would have consented to police coming onto their property. Because the Church doesn’t have the same 24/7 front desk, going into that property was, if anytihing, *more* difficult.

    Comment by Kitten Wednesday, Apr 3, 19 @ 1:13 am

  9. Keep in mind that the issue is not so much mental illness, most of which is non-violent, but expressed violence combined with access to weaponry, which may or may not result from clinical mental illness.

    Comment by VerySmallRocks Wednesday, Apr 3, 19 @ 10:30 am

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