Double-Murder Rocks Small IL Town, Suspect Found Dead After Standoff: State Police

NEW CANTON, IL — An Illinois town with just hundreds of residents was stunned Thursday, after a local man was alleged to have shot his wife and killed her parents before being found dead after a standoff with police, authorities said.

The entire town of New Canton, Illinois —with a population of 324 in 2024 — was placed on lockdown early Thursday morning, as the Pike County Sheriff's Department responded to a call of a person shot in the 300 block of Mississippi Street.

A woman told 911 that she had been shot by her husband — identified as New Canton man Gerald E. Waligorski, 67 — and that he had threatened to also harm her parents, Illinois State Police said Friday. The woman survived, and was life-flighted to an area hospital, officials said.

A massive lockdown was placed over the town, with authorities asking residents to stay inside and lock their doors as police responded to the multiple crime scenes. The Hull Kinderhook Fire Protection District took to social media to warn travelers to avoid the area.

Law enforcement immediately went to check on the woman's parents at their home in the 200 block of Monroe Street, where both were found dead inside, state police said. Their cause of death has not been released as of Friday.

Simultaneously, Pike County Sheriff's deputies called for help from Illinois State Police and other agencies, at Waligorski's home on Mississippi Street. Still believed to be armed, Waligorski barricaded himself inside the home for five hours, state police said, before law enforcement obtained necessary search warrants and SWAT breached the home.

Waligorski was found dead inside, police said. Additional information on cause and manner of his death has not been disclosed.

"I've worked for this county for 26 years and can count on two hands the number of violent crimes we've had," Pike County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Zach Orr told reporters Thursday. "It's a shocking incident, and I think it shocks everybody."

A motive remains unclear, authorities said. The woman's condition was not known as of Friday afternoon.

Illinois State Police have now taken over the investigation, the Pike County Sheriff's Office said Friday.