Wisconsin Man Charged Over Shooting On Edens Expressway In Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — A Wisconsin motorist told police he fired a "warning shot" at another driver's car on the Edens Expressway in Skokie, authorities said.

The bullet shattered the rear passenger window and struck the steering wheel of a Nissan hatchback driven by a 25-year-old Antioch man, according to police and prosecutors.

Dylan J. Creekpaum, 27, of Racine, has been charged with three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm and possession of more than 500 grams of cannabis in connection with an incident that took place shortly after noon on Sunday in the northbound lanes of Interstate 94 near the Old Orchard Road exit.

"After several cars were speeding up and passing each other, [Creekpaum] sped up and positioned his vehicle directly on the passenger side of the [Antioch man's] vehicle," Assistant State's Attorney Nic Attia said at an initial court appearance Tuesday in Skokie.

Creekpaum then drew a pistol and fired a single shot at the Nissan before speeding away, the prosecutor said.

The Antioch man called 911 to report the driver of a Chevrolet Cruze with Wisconsin plates had just shot at his car, authorities said. He then stayed on the phone with dispatchers as he followed the Chevy off the freeway at Lake Avenue and through side streets until getting back on the expressway at Dempster Street heading north.

Skokie police arrested Creekpaum after he got back on the expressway, and a search of his car turned up a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol inside his fanny pack and 1¼ pounds — or 566 grams — of cannabis. The ammunition in his gun matched that of a cartridge casing found near the scene of the shooting, according to Attia.

Creekpaum, a stay-at-home father of a 6-year-old, told his court-appointed defense attorney that he suffers from extensive mental health issues, according to Assistant Public Defender Greg Kobus.

"It was more fear-based on the part of my client, that he was afraid something might happen to him," Kobus said, "rather than road rage."

Last May, Creekpaum pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection with a November 2021 and was sentenced to one year of probation. He has no previous felony convictions in Wisconsin, according to court officials.

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Illinois State Police responded to an inquiry about the incident by issuing a news release about Creekpaum's arrest, which suggested it resulted from a "road rage incident" on the expressway and only mentioned a single count of unlawful discharge.

At his initial court hearing Tuesday, Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese ordered Creekpaum detained at the Cook County Jail hospital unless he can come up with $30,000 in cash.

Calabrese said it was not clear to him whether the shooting stemmed from road rage or some other circumstance.

"In any event," Calabrese said, "We know that the defendant was armed and was willing to discharge that weapon on a public highway."