Special Forces NCO Identified as Shooter in Bowling Alley Shooting
Screen grab from YouTube.
During a Sunday press conference, Rockford, Illinois, Police Department (RPD) Chief Dan O’Shea identified the suspect from a Saturday shooting as 37-year-old Duke Webb, an active-duty soldier in the US Army.
The Army confirmed that Webb has a rank of sergeant first class and was on leave at the time of the shooting. Webb joined the military in 2008 and is currently a Special Forces assistant operations and intelligence sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), located at Camp Bull Simons, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
According to the US Army, a Special Forces intelligence sergeant (SFIS) collects intelligence through conventional and unconventional warfare tactics and strategies in preparation for special missions and during operations. An SFIS can and will provide tactical guidance to other Army personnel. They can be tasked with preparing reports for intelligence nets, which are agents who process prisoners of war, establish security plans, and maintain classified documents.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn about this tragic event and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded,” Col. John W. Sannes, commander of 7th Special Forces Group, wrote in a statement emailed to Coffee or Die Magazine.
On Saturday at approximately 6:55 p.m. in Rockford, Illinois, dispatchers received 911 calls about shots fired inside Don Carter Lanes, a local bowling alley. RPD officers responded and arrived at the scene within approximately one minute. Gunfire was heard inside Don Carter Lanes as officers arrived on scene.
O’Shea said that officers located Webb after “several minutes,” as he hid his two pistols and attempted to “obscure his identification.” Webb was taken into custody by RPD officers without any further incident.
The shooting left three males dead, aged 73, 69, and 65 years old. A 14-year-old male was shot in the face and is said to be in stable condition. A 16-year-old female was shot in the shoulder, and she was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated and released. O’Shea said a third surviving victim, a 62-year-old male who “received multiple gunshot wounds,” was in surgery overnight and remains in critical condition.
J. Hanley, the Winnebago County state’s attorney, said that Webb has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. O’Shea said that investigators believe the shooting was a random act but that they cannot comment further on the circumstances of the incident at this time.
Joshua Skovlund has covered the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France, multinational military exercises in Germany, and civil unrest during the 2020 riots in Minneapolis that followed the death of George Floyd. Born and raised in small-town South Dakota, he grew up playing football and soccer before serving as a forward observer in the US Army. After leaving the service, he earned his CrossFit Level 1 certificate and worked as a personal trainer while earning his paramedic license. He went on to work in paramedicine for more than five years, much of that time in the North Minneapolis area, before transitioning to a career in multimedia journalism. Joshua is married with two children. His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion, where he publishes poetry focused on his life experiences.
The Biden administration announced Monday that it has determined all sides in the brutal conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft b...
American veterans are taking the lessons they learned in the military and changing the craft distilling industry.
In a memo released Thursday, Austin called for the establishment of a suicide prevention working gro...
The Sea Dragon 23 exercises that started on Wednesday will culminate in more than 270 hours of in-fl...
In his latest poetry collection, Ranger-turned-writer Leo Jenkins turns away from war to explore cosmic themes of faith, fatherhood, and art.
The Pentagon on Thursday released video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a ...
From the mountains of Italy to the mountains of Afghanistan, the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division built its legendary reputation by fighting in some of the most inhospitable places in the world.
