CHICAGO _ Buffalo Grove police continued to search for a gunman Monday evening after a husband and wife were shot to death in what police called a targeted attack in the parking garage of the condominium where they lived.
At a news conference Monday, police Chief Steven Casstevens said a 69-year-old man and his 64-year-old wife were seen on at least one video surveillance camera entering a garage for one of the buildings that is part of the sprawling Cambridge on the Lake residential complex on Lake Boulevard.
Casstevens said the video captured the couple getting out of their vehicle when an unidentified man approached them. The couple and the man appeared to have "a brief conversation" before the man shot the husband and wife.
The chief said he would "not speculate" as to how many shots were fired. Police called the shooting a "targeted" incident, although no details of a motive or any relationship between the couple and the gunman were disclosed.
The parking garage is located beneath the multistory building and is secured, requiring an opener that residents would have, police said. Authorities said they believe the gunman entered the garage on foot when the couple opened it to drive in.
By Monday evening, authorities still were not releasing information about the couple's identity.
Police said the time stamp on the camera put the shooting at around 8:15 p.m. Sunday, but Casstevens said authorities were working to determine whether that was accurate.
"While police have no reason to believe the offender will return to the area, due to the severity of the crime and the discomfort within the community, officers will have an increased police presence in the Cambridge on the Lake neighborhood," police said in a written statement after the news conference.
Officers in the northwest suburb were called to scene about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Buffalo Grove deputy police Chief Michael Szos said. A resident noticed the two people unresponsive "near a vehicle with blood on the ground."
The man was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m. and the woman was pronounced dead two minutes later, according to authorities.
The gunman remained at large as of Monday evening. Casstevens said the gunman is described as a man, possibly in his 60s, with gray hair, wearing dark clothing, a dark jacket and dark baseball-style hat.
"We are confident we will be able to identify the suspect" because of the quality of the video, Casstevens said.
Because the victims' family had not yet been notified, Casstevens said police were not yet publicly releasing the surveillance video.
Buffalo Grove police are investigating the shooting with help from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, officials said. A dive team from the task force was at the scene Monday to do a sonar search of a lake on the property. The chief said the search was "just in case a weapon that was used might have been discarded" in the water.
"We're covering all bases" as part of the investigation, Casstevens said.
Michael Kuperman, who said he lives next door to the couple, said police knocked on his door around 3 a.m. Monday asking questions about his neighbors. But he said he didn't find out they were dead until seeing news report.
"I feel very bad, especially my son feels bad because he was very close friends with them," Kuperman said. Kuperman said they didn't have conflicts with others in the complex and described them as "peaceful people."
"Sometimes we just talked to each other, we visit each other," Kuperman said. "We weren't very close, no. But neighbors are neighbors."
A man who lives in a neighboring building at the complex came by to see what happened but didn't wish to be identified. He had discussed the murders with neighbors, who called him Monday morning after seeing news reports describing the incident.
"It's awful," the man said. "I live here more than four years, and I never heard any (violent crime) ... People leave car not locked, people not lock their apartment. We never had any problem."
Buffalo Grove police ask anyone with information about the shooting to contact detectives at (847) 459-2560.
