PTSD is weighed in Illinois shooting

CHICAGO — An attorney for a U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant arrested in what authorities called a random shooting at an Illinois bowling alley that left three people dead said at an initial hearing on Monday that her client may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Duke Webb, 37, faces three counts of murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder for injuring three other people in the shooting at Don Carter Lanes, in Rockford, Ill., on Saturday evening.

According to Army service information, Webb had four deployments to Afghanistan, the most recent one ending in July.

His lawyer, Elizabeth Bucko, also said at the hearing in a Winnebago County courtroom that Webb appeared to have issues with memory loss. She added that he will undergo mental health evaluations, the Rockford Register Star reported.

The judge denied bail for Webb, meaning he will remain jailed. His arraignment was set for Feb. 16.

Webb joined the Army in 2008 and was on leave Saturday. According to the Army, his first deployment to Afghanistan was from August to December 2009. His other deployments were from October 2013 to April 2014, from October 2014 to April 2015, and from January to July of this year.

Webb was taken into custody shortly after the shooting, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said Sunday. The suspect has no known ties to the victims and authorities “believe this was a completely random act,” O’Shea said.

A criminal complaint released Monday says Webb admitted to the shootings shortly after officers arrived on the scene, even showing officers where he’d placed two handguns he had brought with him.

The complaint describes scenes as the gunman opened fire just before 7 p.m. Saturday, first targeting a group of teenagers on the first floor of the two-story building.

A bullet hit the shoulder of a 14-year-girl, and a 14-year-old boy was hit in the face. Both survived. Thomas Furseth, 65, was on the first floor and began running toward the stairs to the second-floor bar when the gunman fatally shot him in the torso, according to the complaint. He managed to get to the second floor before collapsing.

The gunman then went up the stairs himself and opened fire in a bar area filled with up to 25 people. Dennis Steinhoff, 73, was fatally shot in the torso. Jerome Woodfork, 69, also was fatally shot and a witness later said they saw him falling from a second-floor balcony. His body was found below the balcony in a parking lot.

Tyrone Lewis, 62, survived, but was listed in critical condition. He was shot while in the bar area.

Webb was twice awarded the Bronze Star. Among the other awards he has received was the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Combat Action Badge, according to the service information.

The Army has said Webb is a Special Forces assistant operations and intelligence sergeant assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. O’Shea did not explain why he was in Illinois.