MATTESON, Ill. (CBS) – A young mother and her two children were shot May 18 in south suburban Matteson after they tried to fight an accused domestic abuser.
This week, Matteson police announced a nationwide manhunt for the suspected gunman, Lander D. Coleman, 43, who was on the run. The woman remained in the hospital this week after being shot seven times in the early morning of May 18, police said. Her family is concerned for their safety and believes Coleman is a danger to the public.
Photos from the crime scene show blood and bullet holes throughout the woman’s home, as well as in a school photo and on children’s toys. A bullet casing was left behind.
“Just thinking about it makes me emotional knowing that my son thought he was going to die at that moment,” said Steven Booth. “It is really difficult.”
Matteson police said the suspected shooter, Lander D. Coleman, 43, was on the run. The woman was still in the hospital this week after being shot seven times in the early morning, police said.
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Booth described what his 12-year-old son experienced during the attack.
“Junior was in his room playing video games,” Booth said. “He heard gunshots and his mother was screaming.”
The family let CBS 2 into the home to show the aftermath of the attack, hoping someone would come forward to help police catch Coleman. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he was identified by police as the suspected shooter.
Booth said his son’s mother “called for him. He ran into the room, jumped on Mr. Coleman’s back and tried to pull him off his mother.” He said Coleman turned around and shot his son twice, once in the arm and another time in the leg.
Junior’s mother was shot seven times. She slept with her two youngest children, whose father is Coleman.
They saw everything.
Booth said his son’s mother “called for him. He ran into the room, jumped on Mr. Coleman’s back and tried to pull him off his mother.” He said Coleman turned around and shot his son twice, once in the arm and once in the leg.
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“How can you do that to a child?” Booth said. “You know, how can you do that to the mother of your children?”
Junior ran into a bedroom to try to stop the bleeding and hide, but then he heard more gunshots. His 23-year-old sister, who was sleeping on the couch, was also shot and beaten, according to family.
Later, a surveillance camera in the home recorded the suspect walking out the front door with what appeared to be a gun in his right hand. Just then, Booth received a phone call.
It was “probably the most disturbing and scariest phone call I’ve ever received,” he said, adding that he didn’t know if his child was alive for about an hour and a half. “Not knowing, that was the worst.”
‘It felt like my heart stopped’
The attack took place around 1 a.m., but how did the suspect enter the home?
Dozens of people had been at the house the night before for a school party and the garage door had been left open.
“So we think he came in from the garage [the house]and then went down to the basement,” Booth said as he showed CBS 2 the inside of the house.
Booth added that the family believes Coleman walked in during the prom party, hid in a storage room, possibly for hours, until the party was over, and then went upstairs and started shooting.
“His three children were here, so it doesn’t make sense,” said Ngozi Harris, the victim’s cousin.
Harris was at the party and was stunned when she was told that three family members had been shot just hours after she left.
“It felt like my heart stopped,” she said.
Harris said she was concerned for her family’s safety. She said she believes Coleman “is a threat. That means everyone is in danger if he’s still out there. So everyone should work together to bring him to justice.”
A young mother and her two children were shot in south suburban Matteson after trying to fight off an accused domestic abuser over the weekend.
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Matteson police are working with state and federal law enforcement to apprehend Coleman. All three victims are recovering from their gunshot wounds. The mother had an order of protection against Coleman in March.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Matteson Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 708-503-3130.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline at 877-863-6338 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
The Network, an advocacy organization for victims of domestic violence, has also put together a toolkit for drawing up a safety plan.
The Circuit Court Clerk of the Cook County Clerk’s Office offers advice on obtaining protective orders and has a resource center.
