Suspect in shooting of two Macomb Police Department officers taken into custody

MACOMB, Ill. — The suspect in the shooting of two officers with the Macomb Police Department Wednesday night was taken into custody without incident Thursday afternoon.

After a 20-hour standoff, Shaiking M. Mathis, 38, was taken into custody at 2:10 p.m. and taken. to McDonough County Jail. He has been charged with four counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm.

A press release from Savannah Ballard, marketing and downtown development director for the City of Macomb, indicated the scene in the 300 block of North Normal is now secure and still being processed.

A press conference has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday.

The two officers were shot during the process of serving a warrant on Wednesday night at the North Normal home. The suspect was then barricaded inside the residence.

Macomb Police Chief Jeff Hamer said during a press briefing on Thursday morning that the Illinois State Police SWAT team and crisis negotiation team were on the scene.

The names of the officers who were shot have not yet been made public.

During a press briefing Wednesday night, Hamer said officers attempted to execute a search warrant at the North Normal residence at 6:44 p.m. 

“After knocking and announcing their presence several times, (the officers) forced entry into the residence, where they were immediately fired upon by someone inside the residence,” Hamer said.

Hamer said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that the officers were shot “in the lower torso.” He said it was not unusual for the officer to be executing a search warrant during that time of the day.

Hamer said the officers were first taken to McDonough District Hospital, then transported to a trauma center in Peoria. Hamer said Thursday morning they officers have been discharged and are recuperating at home.

Both the Western Illinois University campuses in Macomb and the Quad Cities were closed Thursday, Sept. 5, because of the threat near the Macomb campus.

A daycare near the site of the shooting also was closed on Thursday.