Multiple people were shot in northern Illinois in a ‘mass casualty incident,’ authorities say

DIXON, Illinois – Multiple people were shot Wednesday in northern Illinois, authorities said, calling it a “mass casualty incident.”

Ambulances and two medical helicopters went to the Lost Lake community near Dixon, where there was also a massive police presence, according to a post in the Winnebago Boone. & Ogle County Fire/EMS Incident Facebook Page.

A spokesperson for Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon said three people were taken to the hospital’s emergency room.

A person who answered the phone at the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press. The department’s website said a press conference would be held at 3:30 p.m.

Aerial video from local media on Wednesday afternoon showed police and personal cars parked on the sides of unpaved roads throughout the neighborhood and authorities occasionally gathering in small groups, but with little ongoing activity. Yellow police tape blocked off at least one driveway, and an Ogle County sheriff’s mobile command center was parked at the end of the road.

The Lost Lake Homeowners Association describes the area as a “country-style community” of about 700 homeowners in an unincorporated area near the cities of Dixon, Franklin Grove and Oregon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Chicago.