A white man accused of shooting a mother of two Black sons reportedly yelled "dead n––" before firing off several shots from his AK-47 into his unarmed neighbor, according to a family member who witnessed the shooting.
John Shadbar, a 70-year-old convicted felon, is facing nine charges, including attempted first-degree murder and hate crime, in connection with the alleged racially-motivated shooting of Robertson in their Lockport Township, Illinois, neighborhood, according to authorities.
On Wednesday, Shadbar was reportedly angered he was woken up from his nap by the sounds of 45-year-old Melissa Robertson's 7-year-old son and their 3-year-old neighbor jumping on a trampoline in their backyard. He allegedly confronted Robertson with his semi-automatic rifle; then things turned near-deadly.
"I wasn't surprised by it. I was just really shocked that it happened the way it did. And it happened when it did," Mikeal Johnson, Robertson's 21-year-old son who was at work at the time, told HNGN on Monday.
"He ventured into her yard shooting, and his normal racial slurs escalated as well... he's got a whole repertoire of slurs," Jeanne Beyer, Robertson's aunt, accused. "He started yelling dead n––. Over and over."
Robertson ushered the kids inside. The confrontation with Shadbar intensified and he subsequently fired off his rifle into her chest and hand. Robertson managed to crawl to the safety of her kitchen and call 911. The mom of two was transported to the hospital in critical condition, while Shadbar barricaded himself inside his home, before surrendering to authorities.
"I thought he was all bark and no bite," Johnson said of the alleged harassment his neighbor subjected the family to over the years. "I thought everything he did was just an intimidation tactic. I never foresaw this happening. But I saw something similar happening. Just not as serious as it did."
The family alleged Shadbar had been vocal about his prejudice against Black people since becoming neighbors 10 years ago, and the suspect's issues with the multi-racial family spiraled.
"He'd take his motorcycle out of the garage and park it right by the fence and rev the engine as loud as it could go," said Beyer. "That's kind of his normal routine. He does that and then he goes and gets a gun and starts shooting the gun off into the air. Sometimes across the street into the forest. But this time it just escalated more than it ever has."
Officers were called to the family's home three times for incidents involving Shadbar since March.
"The first call was about Shadbar acting very agitated and yelling at the victim and her children. Deputies responded and resolved the issue," the Will County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. "The second call regarded Shadbar shooting fireworks and possibly a gun over the victim's backyard fence. The victim stated that she had on-going issues with Shadbar."
Authorities said there wasn't enough evidence to initiate an arrest, until last week's alleged shooting.
"Many times she made the comment that it's gonna take somebody dying for the police to do anything," Beyer said.
Robertson remains hospitalized in critical condition, but was recently taken off a ventilator. Her family has been by her side since day one.
"She's fully aware of what happened. She has all her memories and she's just processing," said Johnson "She can't believe it got to this point of where he got that angry that he did what he felt he needed to do. She's hurt – not just physically but emotionally, as well."
During an investigation of Shadbar's home, officers allegedly recovered five illegally possessed weapons concealed behind a makeshift wall: two AK-47 rifles, a shotgun, and two handguns.
Shabar was previously arrested for a felony in 1979, and his Firearm Owner's Identification Card – which identifies a person as eligible to possess a gun – was revoked, according to the WCSO.
"This is going to be a traumatic experience that she's going to remember for a long time," Johnson said of his mom, "but she's strong."
