Two people who were taken into custody Friday morning in Tinley Park were not connected with a massive search stemming from a shooting in Posen, Tinley Park police Chief Matthew Walsh said Tuesday.
The arrests came several hours after police from dozens of law enforcement agencies began a search Thursday night in Tinley Park for occupants of a vehicle suspected of shooting at a home in Posen.
After the arrests were made late Friday morning, Tinley Park police referred questions to Posen police, who in turn referred questions to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Tinley Park police did not respond Friday to requests to clarify about the two arrests after the state’s attorney announced juvenile court charges against one 17-year-old in connection with the Posen shooting.
Walsh said Tuesday a black sport utility vehicle was pulled over Friday morning in the vicinity of Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street after newly installed license plate-reading cameras had flagged the vehicle as stolen.
The village installed the cameras on Harlem near the interchange with Interstate 80, replacing red light cameras that had previously monitored the area.
Local, county and state police agencies were involved in a search that had gotten underway Thursday night for a vehicle suspected in the Posen shooting and which crashed at Ridgeland and Oak Forest avenues in Tinley Park.
Posen and state police pursued a white Chrysler 300 sedan, which was spotted by a Tinley Park officer near Ridgeland and 183rd.
Following the crash the vehicle’s occupants ran off, with police later apprehending the 17-year-old who is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Two other people who were in the vehicle remain at large.
The Tinley Park Police Department initially said the vehicle and its occupants were wanted in connection with the Posen shooting as well as a double homicide in Hammond, Indiana, though Hammond police said they were not involved in the overnight search.
Residents in the area of the search were notified through the automated CodeRed phone system of the significant police presence and told to remain inside, although police said that more than 800 calls made by the alert system were rejected. Police said that the blocked calls could have been the result of invalid phone numbers or other technology issues and encouraged residents to ensure the village has updated contact information.
mnolan@tribpub.com