February 11, 2009 3:27 PM

Police Release Sketch Of Mall Shooter

(AP)  Suburban Chicago police said a crime lab was evaluating "a large quantity" of evidence collected in water searches and at the scene of a Lane Bryant clothing store where five women were fatally shot and a sixth was injured.

Dive teams searched frozen ponds and streams for two days looking for potential evidence in the Feb. 2 shootings and attempted robbery in suburban Tinley Park, according to a statement released Saturday by Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Rick Bruno

Authorities also have searched roadsides and state highways.

The gunman was still at large Saturday.

"The crime lab continues to evaluate a very large quantity of evidence collected at the scene, and we continue to receive phone leads on the 24 hour Tip Hotline," Bruno said in the statement.

He said police have received more than 200 tips.

Police handed out flyers Saturday at the strip mall where the Lane Bryant is located seeking people who may have seen something on the day of the attack.

Killed in the shootings were: store manager Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Carrie H. Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.

Mourners gathered Saturday for the funerals of three of the five slain women. More than 600 people attended services for McFarland at Word of Life Christian Center in Crest Hill.

"A precious person has been removed from our lives in a mysterious, unexpected, violent and horrible way," the Rev. Tim Bagwell said during the service. "At a moment like this, we would not be human if we didn't ask why."

Services also were planned Saturday for Szafranski and Woolfolk. The other two victims were mourned at services Thursday and Friday.

A sixth woman survived the attack during what investigators have called a botched robbery. She is being held in protective custody to ensure her safety, officials have said.

The Associated Press is not naming the woman because authorities have not confirmed the details. She released a statement through police earlier this week in which she called the women who were killed "five of the bravest women I have ever met."

Tinley Park police Saturday night released a composite drawing of the suspect based on the survivors' description. Authorities have described the gunman as a black man, between 5 feet 9 and 6 feet tall and between 200 to 230 pounds with thick braided hair and a receding hairline.

Bruno declined to give further information in the investigation.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 20 Comments
by gunownerdan February 11, 2008 8:21 PM EST
Have you been drinking or smoking something? "LOL"
Posted by schoollord


I wonder the exact same thing about you!
But at least I don''t threaten you. You have already stated that if you had a gun you would want to shoot me. How pathetic. And I only call you childish names when you do it to me first.
Reply to this comment
by guadalcanal3 February 11, 2008 8:20 PM EST
Hey everybody...It doesn''t take rocket science to figure out that criminals can purchase a gun...BEFORE...they actually have a criminal record....Thats the problem. (how about that kid who shot dead his mother, father, and brother)
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan February 11, 2008 6:02 PM EST
And most of those "criminals" are GUN OWNERS!~
Posted by schoollord

And all criminals are humans.
But it doesn''t mean all humans are criminals.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan February 11, 2008 4:51 PM EST
Most gun deaths are related to ILLEGALLY USED GUNS.
I don''t care if you have a criminal record or not, if you use a gun illegally, you are a criminal.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan February 11, 2008 3:56 PM EST
people are killed and wounded by them.
Posted by schoollord

People don''t get murdered or wounded by GUNS, they get murdered or wounded by CRIMINALS who USE GUNS ILLEGALLY.
Reply to this comment
by klingon69 February 11, 2008 2:49 PM EST
Just ignore schoollord. He is a spamming anti-gun freak, probably in the employ of one of Sarah Brady''s organizations.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan February 11, 2008 12:56 PM EST
schoollord,
Over 40 states now allow concealed-carry of handguns.
These states have seen less violent crime after allowing citizens to protect themselves.
There is no proof whatsoever that more guns equal more crime.
Reply to this comment
by jegibbons February 10, 2008 9:14 PM EST
=="My fear is other reasons may become motivating factors."== Posted by cbs4me3
Fear Not.
This tragedy is totally and colossaly stupid. It reflects the defective mind of its perpetrator.

He was likely a beginner, a coward (for certain) who picks an easy target where there are only women, early in the day. It didn''tmatter that there would be little or no money.

Maybe he hates his Momma? But more likely, based upon interviews with other similar perpetrators who have committed equally heinous crimes:
WHY did you kill them? ANS "Cuz they wuz there!"
Trying to make sense out of the senseless is not the way to solve this crime. The haircut is the best clue.
Reply to this comment
by zootallures2 February 10, 2008 4:13 PM EST
I say we offer him community service if he confesses and shoots the arse head who keeps posting this krap:

I am jason, a handsome man from us. i am just at the beginning of my career and want to seek a rich women for support, maybe to be my sugar momma..where should i start?? one day, i happened to browse a site, SugarMommaMatch.c.....
Reply to this comment
by vittoria1 February 10, 2008 4:04 PM EST
The police have asked for help from hairstylists, but my guess is that someone desperate enough to rob a women''s clothing store, where he wasn''t going to find much cash, doesn''t have the money to pay for professional styling. (Those braided styles are expensive.) This man has a friend or girlfriend who does his hair for him and knows who he is. To that person I say, PLEASE step forward. You don''t want the murderer of five human beings to be on the streets, no matter how much you care about him. You are in danger, too.
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