WHEATON, IL – A quarrel that broke out in Rosie O’Reilly’s Pub in unincorporated Wheaton turned fatal on Friday morning. A man whose identity is yet to be revealed was shot dead during the confrontation.
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, responding to the shooting at Rosie O Reilly’s Pub around 8:45 a.m., reported that it began with an altercation inside the pub. The identity of the deceased man is still undisclosed pending an autopsy by the DuPage County Coroner’s Office.
According to John Dwyer, owner of Rosie O Reilly’s Pub, the deceased man was a familiar face in the pub. The man reportedly leaves behind two children, with another on the way.
Witness accounts gathered by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office indicate that two individuals started arguing inside Rosie O’Reilly’s Pub in the morning and eventually took the confrontation outside. One of the individuals then allegedly retrieved a gun.
Cell phone footage from the scene presents a strange sequence of events. Initially, the victim and another man appeared to be engaging in good-natured horseplay on the pub’s outdoor deck, even seeming to dance to an imaginary beat. However, the playful mood took a tragic turn when the sound of gunshots filled the air.
A few moments later, the victim suffered a lethal gunshot wound to the forehead. The two men present at the scene, including the alleged shooter, didn’t attempt to escape but remained at the scene as onlookers dialed 911.
The DuPage County Sheriff’s investigators now have in their possession the pub’s surveillance video footage, which may offer some clarity on the unexpected turn of events leading to the man’s demise.
As of now, the scene has been secured, and all the parties involved, including the suspected shooter, are in custody. Authorities have reassured the public that this was an isolated incident and that there’s no lingering threat to the community.