Man Wanted For Killing Brothers In Highland Park Had Gun Near Gateway Arch: St. Louis PD

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Police in St. Louis released an image showing the arrest of the man authorities say shot two of his brothers to death before setting their late mother's Highland Park home on fire.

The National Park Service notified St. Louis Metropolitan Police on Friday that Jeff Austwick, the 54-year-old resident of the Park Avenue West home set ablaze two days earlier, may be near the grounds of the Gateway Arch, police said in a social media post.

Detectives reviewed live feeds from security cameras in the downtown area and found Austwick "in the bushes" near the intersection of Walnut and 7th streets, where he was "also armed with a gun," police said.

John Austwick, 60, of Mundelein, and Marc Austwick, 63, of Lake Forest, were found fatally shot early Wednesday outside the burning home that their brother Jeff shared with their mother, who had died just five days earlier, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

By late Wednesday, police had obtained a nationwide arrest warrant for Jeff Austwick, according to task force spokesperson Chris Covelli.

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The preliminary investigation indicates that Marc and John Austwick went to the house to discuss their late mother's property with their brother, Covelli said. After their arrival, Jeff Austwick allegedly shot his brothers and set the house on fire.

There were zero murders in Highland Park in the 19 years prior to the 2022 mass shooting at the city's Independence Day parade, which killed seven, wounded nearly 50 others and traumatized untold others.

Since then, there have been five more homicides.

A 45-year-old man is accused of stabbing his two parents to death in the luxury Green Bay Road apartment they shared in September 2022.

A 16-year-old Highland Park boy was charged with murder over the shooting of a 16-year-old Highwood boy in August 2023.

And now Jeff Austwick faces two counts of murder over the slayings of his brothers last week.

No word was immediately available Monday on the status of his extradition from Missouri to Illinois.

Read More:

• Man Shot His 2 Brothers, Set Highland Park House On Fire, Police Say
• Brothers Found Dead Outside Burning Highland Park Home Were Shot To Death: Coroner
• Son Stabbed Parents To Death In Highland Park Apartment: Authorities
• Highland Park Teen Faces First-Degree Murder Charge In Fatal Shooting