A man wanted for a horrific triple homicide in downstate Illinois was killed in a dramatic shootout with Berwyn police late Wednesday night, according to the suburban police department.
The man, identified as 24-year-old John R. Lyons from Westchester, had been on the run after allegedly killing three family members earlier that day in Mahomet, Illinois. The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed his identity.
The intense sequence of events started just before midnight when Berwyn police got a call about a man with a gun near the 1800 block of Home Avenue. Officers quickly responded and followed Lyons as he forced his way into a home on Wenonah Avenue, just a block away.
Inside the house on Wenonah, Lyons reportedly shot and killed two dogs before running back toward Home Avenue. When police tried to stop him, he allegedly turned his gun on the officers and started firing. The police fired back, killing Lyons on the spot. Thankfully, no officers were hurt in the shootout.
Authorities later revealed that Lyons was wanted for a chilling crime earlier that evening in Mahomet, a small town in Champaign County. Around 9:40 p.m., Mahomet police were called to a home on Riverside Drive, where they discovered three family members had been shot.
Two of the victims, 61-year-old Janis L. Mason and 23-year-old Caleb M. Mason, were rushed to the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Tragically, both were pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m. The third victim, 26-year-old Sara E. Mason, was found dead at the scene.
The horrific Mahomet killings and the deadly shootout in Berwyn are now being investigated. The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force has taken over the case, along with the investigation into the police shooting.
Officials say both investigations are in the early stages, and no additional details are available at this time.
