Natalia – The investigation into why deceased murder suspect Romeo Nance went on a shooting spree that involved several members of his family is still underway in Joliet Township, Illinois.
Police Chief William Evans says that shortly after they identified the 23-year-old as the prime suspect, federal authorities were able to track him down in Texas.
“Once he arrived in Texas, we believe that he went to a local mall. And he stole the Texas license plate,” Evans said.
Evans says he headed south on I-35, traveling most of the day and into the evening.
He got regular updates from federal investigators with the U.S. Marshals Task Force, who had a helicopter tracking him.
“There was definitely a phone involved, but, at the core of it, the federal agencies have a lot of technology at their disposal, and they were up on (Nance) for a period of time,” Evans said.
Evans said the theory is he was on his way to Mexico.
“To our knowledge, right now, he doesn’t have any family or any connection to the state of Texas,” he said. “So, we don’t think he was going down there to see anybody in Texas or to hide out at someone’s home there.”
About 18 hours and 1,200 miles from the crime scene, investigators confronted Nance at a Valero gas station in Natalia, Texas.
“And it is at that time (that) we believe he fled the vehicle,” Evans said. “He had an armed confrontation with law enforcement, and shortly thereafter, he took his own life.”
Evans says local law enforcement was kept informed that Nance, considered armed and dangerous, was passing through the area.
The investigation into whether Nance made any additional stops during his trip remains ongoing. Still, a motive on why he killed eight people and injured another may be something that’s never known, Evans said.
RELATED ON KSAT.COM
People in Natalia shocked by arrival of Illinois mass murder suspect to their city