Crime & Safety
Great Lakes Naval Station Confirms Death Of Recruit
An investigation into the "circumstances surrounding the incident is underway," officials told Patch Thursday.
GREAT LAKES, IL — A recruit at the Great Lakes Naval Station died Wednesday, Naval Service training officials confirmed Thursday.
Officials are not currently releasing the cause of death or the name of the recruit. An investigation into the "circumstances surrounding the incident is underway," Lt. Beau Nickerson, a public affairs officer at Great Lakes Naval Station, told Patch.
Lake County Coroner Stephen Newton told Patch the incident happened at about 1:45 p.m. at one of the firing ranges on the base. The coroner's office was called at 4:15 p.m. to the scene.
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An autopsy is being performed Thursday morning and more details are expected to be released once authorities contact the recruit's family members, Newton said.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Lake & McHenry Scanner shared that a person had been shot at Naval Station Great Lakes, 3200 Illinois Street in Great Lakes, on its Facebook page. The Great Lakes Naval Police and Great Lakes Fire Department responded to the incident, which involved a person who was unconscious and not breathing, according to the Facebook post.
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Patch.com reached out to the Naval Station's public affairs department to check on the validity of the report. Lt. Beau Nickerson shared this response:
We are aware of reports of an incident on board Naval Station Great Lakes, and we are looking into the matter. We can confirm there is no active threat to personnel. The base remains open for normal operations.
As of Thursday morning, Patch.com has not confirmed with officials what lead to the sailor's death, which happened on the same day an accused gunman shot five soldiers at Georgia's Fort Stewart Hunter Army Airfield. Authorities identified the shooter as Quornelius Radford.
The Army said all soldiers were tended to on-site and taken to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment. Their condition was not immediately known.
The mass shooting happened around 11 a.m. in Fort Stewart's 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area, officials said.
Naval Station Great Lakes is the Navy's largest training installation and the home of the Navy's only Boot Camp.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
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