An assistant principal at Lincoln Middle School in Berwyn was one of three people killed, including the suspected gunman, in what appeared to be a “domestic-related” shooting outside the school Tuesday, according to police and school officials.
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Assistant Principal Nerissa Lee, 46, was identified as one of the victims in Tuesday’s shooting outside the west suburban campus at 6432 16th St., according to Berwyn North School District 98 Superintendent Michelle Smith and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
An autopsy Wednesday determined Lee and a second unidentified 76-year-old female died of multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.
A third person who died in the shooting, Steven T. Lee, 54, died of a gunshot wound to the head in a suicide, the office said. Authorities would not confirm the relationship between the victims.
Classes were canceled at Lincoln Middle on Wednesday, but instruction will resume Thursday with counselors available, Smith said in a statement.
Lee’s sudden loss was reverberating around the close-knit community, said Robert Pabon, 5th Ward alderman. “This was somebody (who) was a really positive, caring and impactful person in our community,” Pabon told the Tribune Wednesday evening. “We’re going to be feeling it without her here.”
Pabon said one of his daughters, who is now a sophomore in high school, graduated from the middle school, while another daughter is in seventh grade at Lincoln.His younger daughter was en route to a cross-country meet at the time of Tuesday’s shooting.
“This is really close to us and to my family’s hearts and my daughter and her friends and her community,” he said. “(I) just really want people to feel supported right now.” Both his daughters had beautiful things to say about Lee, he added.
“This is something that I think has shaken up our community,” Pabon said.
In a statement, Berwyn police described Lee as a “dedicated educator and leader who touched the lives of countless students and staff members.”
“In this difficult time, the Berwyn Police Department stands ready to support Berwyn North School District 98 in any way possible,” the department’s statement read. “We urge community members to come together and offer their support to one another as we navigate this tragedy.”
Berwyn police officers responded to the school after hearing gunfire nearby at about 4:05 p.m. Tuesday, police said in a news release.
When officers arrived, they found a man firing a rifle into another vehicle just before firing shots at responding officers as they approached, according to police. The officers took cover and did not return fire, authorities added.
The shooting ended with the deaths of three people at the scene, including the gunman, who died in “what we believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound on scene,” Berwyn police Cmdr. Michael Fellows said.
The situation appears to be “domestic-related,” authorities said, adding that all parties involved had been accounted for and there was no ongoing danger.
Lincoln Middle School was placed on a “hard lockdown” during the shooting, authorities said. None of the people killed were students, school officials confirmed.
The investigation remained ongoing Wednesday.