BERWYN, Ill. — The assistant principal of a middle school in west suburban Berwyn and her mother are among three people killed in a shooting near the school Tuesday afternoon.
Nerissa Lee, assistant principal at Lincoln Middle School, was killed in the shooting that happened near the school around 4 p.m., according to a post shared by Superintendent Dr. Michelle Smith on Berwyn North School District 98’s social media and distributed district-wide.
Loved ones identified the second victim as 76-year-old Joycelyn Everage, the mother of Lee, who was in the car with her at the time of the shooting.
PREVIOUS: 3 dead in shooting near Lincoln Middle School in Berwyn, classes canceled for Wednesday
Cook County authorities identified the alleged gunman as 54-year-old Steven Lee, the husband of Nerissa Lee. Berwyn police say he is the gunman who fatally shot himself after shooting Lee and Everage in what Berwyn police said appeared to be a domestic-related incident.
The district said Tuesday that none of the individuals killed was a student at Lincoln Middle School, which was closed Wednesday in the wake of the shooting.
Classes will resume at the school on Thursday, according to Smith’s statement, which reads:
“It is with great sadness that I announce to you that Nerissa Lee, Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School, lost her life in (Tuesday’s) tragic shooting that occurred outside Lincoln.
“Instruction at Lincoln will resume (Thursday) and counselors will be available. The wellbeing of our students and staff remains a priority. As a reminder, this was a domestic violence incident and there is no ongoing threat to the school community.
“Thank you for your support in this difficult time.”
Officials with Berwyn police said officers heard gunfire near Lincoln Middle School just after 4 p.m. Tuesday. The school day had ended, but many students and staff were still present when the shooting began.
Upon their arrival, officers witnessed a male suspect firing a rifle into a vehicle just outside the school. Both Lee and Everage were slain inside the car.
Officials said responding officers came under fire from the suspect and took cover, but police did not return fire before the gunman then shot and killed himself.
‘Didn’t want to overstep’
Shana Everage says her sister and brother-in-law had been having domestic-related issues since June, with an altercation involving a weapon occurring as recently as the night of Monday, Sept. 15.
“They’re my family. It’s a horrible thing. I have a lot of emotions, I don’t know what to feel,” she said.
Speaking outside her home to WGN-TV on Wednesday, Shana Everage said her mother was picking Lee up from Lincoln Middle School to take her to the police station to file a report moments before the shooting.
“I know my mother loved me and my sister, and she wanted the best for her regarding this situation,” Everage said. “It was also difficult for her. She was trying to give my sister time to get it together, which apparently didn’t happen. She didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Even though it was her mom, my sister was still grown. She wanted to step back to let her figure this out.”
According to Everage, she was supposed to ride with her mother to pick up her sister, but received a phone call from her old Sunday school teacher and decided to stay home. She laments that she likely would have been inside the vehicle when the deadly shooting occurred.
“We talked, and I guess it was actually having been on the phone with her, and I talked so much to the point where my mother was already proceeding to leave, and I was just like, ‘Naw, I’m not going to even go.’ But I guess it was a good thing because in the end, I probably would not be here.”
Reflecting on her sister’s tenure at Lincoln Middle School, Shana Everage revealed that Lee served as assistant principal for the last two years after teaching for several years and loved her job.
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