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An Illinois man is facing hate crime charges after he allegedly shot his white neighbor, who has Black sons, several times in an apparent racially motivated incident, per NBC News.
On Tuesday (May 7), Will County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report that a 45-year-old woman was shot by her neighbor in Lockport Township.
Witnesses said suspected shooter John P. Shadbar had fired dozens of shots at the woman "from different outside locations." The woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being shot in the chest and hand. She is currently recovering from her injuries, according to the sheriff's office.
Family members identified the shooting victim as Melissa Robertson. Robertson's family said Shadbar had been harassing her and her Black sons since they moved in roughly a decade ago.
Mikeal Johnson, one of Robertson's sons, told local outlets that Shadbar had previously yelled slurs like "dead n-words, n-word this, n-word lover."
"[He] called me the n-word straight to my face," Johnson said. "My mom made him apologize. A few days later he comes out holding a gun in his underwear."
In other instances, Shadbar allegedly shot his gun in his yard and threw fireworks between their homes.
Robertson's aunt, Jeanne Beyer, said Shadbar yelled "dead n-word" as he was trying to get into the family's backyard on Tuesday. Following the shooting, the man barricaded himself in his home before a crisis negotiator convinced him to surrender.
Shadbar allegedly made "several incriminating statements" while speaking to the crisis negotiator. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and a hate crime.
On Thursday (May 9), Shadbar appeared in court, where he was denied pretrial release.
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