A man accused of driving an SUV into and through Woodfield Mall on Friday is being treated at a mental health facility and any decision on possible charges will wait until he is released, according to police.
The 22-year-old is still in custody and was transported to AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute, police said in a statement Saturday. Police don’t know how long he will be kept there, but said “no charges will be authorized until his release.”
Police had been dispatched to the mall in Schaumburg at 2:21 p.m. amid multiple reports of a vehicle driving in the mall. Officers found that a black SUV had crashed through an entrance near Sears and Rainforest Cafe and proceeded to wreak havoc throughout the shopping center.
A video posted to Twitter captured the chaos, showing the SUV driving around the mall and smashing through kiosks as shoppers and employees flee.
The driver was detained by shoppers before officers arrived to arrest him, police said. He was treated on scene and refused medical transport.
No one was struck by the car but three people were taken to a hospital for “very minor” injuries, Schaumburg Police Chief Bill Wolf said Friday.
There was no indication the incident was meant as an attack, Wolf said. Investigators were looking into the possibility that the driver had some type of medical episode.
