A veteran custodian allegedly shot his female colleague before turning the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide at an Illinois elementary school, according to reports and authorities.
A 63-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman — both identified by their union as custodians — were discovered unresponsive with single gunshot wounds to their heads inside Mark Twain Elementary School around 3:40 p.m. on Monday, a Chicago Police Department spokesperson told The Post.
The male custodian allegedly approached his female colleague from behind as she walked down the school’s hallway and shot her in the head from close range, according to police reports seen by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The older custodian then went to the school’s office and shot himself in the head, the police report said.
Both unidentified custodians were rushed to local hospitals in critical condition, where they were pronounced dead, police said.
The 63-year-old veteran janitor was allegedly upset about being “relocated” from the school after 20 years on the job, according to the police report.
“In the hallway we have one female,” an individual is heard saying in audio from police radio communications obtained by WLS.
“The shooter shot himself in the head,” the audio continued. “There is a firearm right next to the offender.”
Mark Twain Elementary School confirmed the gunfire erupted inside the building in a statement to the Sun-Times.
“Dear Twain Community, it is with deep sadness that I inform you that this afternoon, shots were fired inside our school building. I am sorry to share that members of our school community were impacted.
“We know that this news will be deeply concerning to our families and staff. We will work to provide additional information to the school community as the investigation proceeds,” the statement said.
“Please know that we are taking this situation very seriously to ensure the safety of our school community. We thank you for your continued partnership.”
Students were not in the building at the time, and classes at the school in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood do not start for a couple of weeks.
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Jacob Hernandez, who attended the school, told WBBM that he saw two people being carried out of the building on stretchers and a massive police and fire department response as he biked past the horrific scene.
“I saw two people on a stretcher. They were trying to resuscitate somebody,” Hernandez said. “And I heard this guy, he was telling me he heard a girl screaming.”
Felicia Puga told the outlet she’s terrified of dropping off her soon-to-be second-grader, Luna, at the school when it starts on Aug. 24.
“How are we supposed to send our kids to school knowing something like this could happen potentially again?” Puga said.
“Now I’m questioning if I should even send her, and hopefully there’s a school nearby, but we’re not in the district for it,” she said. “So we’re hoping maybe I can get her into that school, because something is not right here.”
Trumaine Reeves, the executive vice president of the union representing the custodians, said in a statement to the Sun-Times that the “only facts we know right now are that two families have lost a loved one and our prayers are with their families, and the staff, students, and families at Mark Twain Elementary School.”
The SEIU Local 73 union and Mark Twain Elementary School did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The incident remains under investigation.
