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PRINCETON, Ill. — A 3-year-old child was hit by police gunfire during a hostage situation on Sunday in rural Bureau County, Illinois.
The Bureau County Sheriff’s Office and Princeton Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance call at a trailer park in the 2700 block of East Street on May 10. Illinois State Police assisted with perimeter security.
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ISP said a man was armed and holding several people hostage inside the trailer, including children. Officers entered the home and shots were fired, ISP said in its press release.
The man and the 3-year-old child were hit by gunfire, ISP said. The child was taken to the hospital, where they were pronounced deceased. The man was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Officials have identified the man as Anthony D. Rodriguez. He faces three counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, two counts of domestic battery and three counts of aggravated assault.
Off camera, News 8 spoke with several people who were in the home at the time of the incident.
The mother of the 3-year-old boy, who is also the subject’s girlfriend, said that the subject was armed with a knife and was threatening to hurt her children. When police got to the scene, she said he locked himself and three children in his bedroom, threatening to kill them if police entered the home.
Soon after, she said police kicked the door down, and that shots were fired immediately after. She said there was too much chaos in the moment to see how her son died.
The mom said her 3-year-old son Damien was a joyful kid.
ISP and the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office have not provided any additional details to News 8 or the family, saying it’s an active and ongoing investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. News 8 will provide updates on this incident as they are made available. We have submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the officers’ body-worn camera video. That was denied due to the ongoing investigation, but we will work to obtain the video when it can be made available.
PRINCETON, Ill. (KWQC) – A child has died following a hostage situation that ended in an officer-involved shooting at a home.
The Bureau County Coroner has identified the child as 3-year-old Damian Camacho.
Update: Funeral services have been announced for the 3-year-old. A visitation will be held on Monday from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Hyacinth’s Catholic Church. Mass will start at noon, according to a message from the family. On Sunday, a candlelight vigil will be held when the sun goes down at Lake Park in Depue.
Illinois State Police responded to a domestic disturbance at 2:42 a.m. on Sunday, May 10 in the 2700 block of East Street, according to a news release.
Police said a man, later identified as Anthony Daniel Rodriguez, was armed with a knife and barricaded in a room, holding several people hostage, including juveniles.
After failed attempts to get Rodriguez to leave the room, officials said screaming was heard by officers on scene who believed danger was imminent.
Officials said shots were fired by police as they entered the home.
Police said Rodriguez and a child were hit by gunfire.
The child was taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Police said Rodriguez was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Rodriguez, 42, is charged with aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated assault and domestic battery.
He was booked into the Bureau County Jail Monday night.
This is a developing story. KWQC will provide updates on-air and online.
Copyright 2026 KWQC. All rights reserved.
Flora improvements may soon be coming to the city of La Salle.
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Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network
OSF said a cybersecurity incident involving former vendor Cerner may have exposed some patient information but did not impact hospital operations. (Shaw Local News Network)
OSF recently confirmed that their patients personal and medical information may have been exposed in a breach involving its former electronic health record software vendor, Cerner.
According to a notification letter sent to patients of OSF Saint Clare Medical Center in Princeton, Cerner informed the hospital in September that an unauthorized third party gained access to legacy Cerner systems as early as January this year and obtained certain data. The breach did not involve any systems managed or maintained by OSF Saint Clare.
While only Saint Clare patients were notified, OSF confirmed Cerner’s data breach involved multiple facilities and was not limited to just the hospital in Princeton. For security reasons, they were unable to provide any additional details regarding their systems or contractual relationships.
Cerner initiated its incident response process after discovering the breach, secured the affected systems, engaged external cybersecurity specialists and notified police. Cerner later told OSF that investigators asked for a delay in notifying patients and hospital customers, saying early notification could have interfered with the investigation. OSF said it is notifying patients as soon as it was permitted to do so.
In November, Cerner completed a data review and gave OSF a list of patients whose information may have been involved.
The information potentially accessed includes patient names, Social Security numbers and information contained in medical records, like medical record numbers, physicians, diagnoses, medications, test results, images and details related to care and treatment.
To help those patients, OSF and Cerner are offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring and two years of identity restoration services.
OSF said it no longer uses Cerner’s services.
Paul Arco, media relations coordinator for OSF HealthCare’s Northern Region, said the incident on Cerner’s systems involved numerous healthcare facilities and was not limited to just OSF Saint Clare Medical Center and the complimentary identity monitoring services are being offered as a precaution.
Bill Freskos is a multimedia journalist based in the Illinois Valley. He covers hard news, local government, sports, business enterprise, and politics while contributing to Shaw Local Radio stations for Shaw Media across La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam counties.
The following cases were considered Sept. 12 by the Bureau County grand jury:
Angelina R. Victorinio, 35, of Princeton, was indicted on the Class 3 felony offense of unlawful possession of methamphetamine. She is accused of possessing less than 5 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. A Princeton police officer testified before the grand jury. This defendant is released from custody on a personal recognizance bond.
James A. Peacock, 26, of Princeton, was indicted for the Class 4 felony offense of theft. He is accused of exerting unauthorized control over property of a Princeton business with the intent to deprive the owner permanently of the use of the property. The defendant had been previously convicted of retail theft in a Bureau County case. A Princeton police officer testified before the grand jury. The defendant is in custody of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department with bond set in the amount of $15,000, 10% to apply.
Joseph R. Balma, 46, of Spring Valley, was indicted for the Class 4 felony offense of criminal trespass to a residence. He is accused of entering a Spring Valley residence without authority. A Spring Valley police officer testified before the grand jury. This defendant is in custody of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department with bond set in the amount of $25,000, 10% to apply.
Jacob J. West, 39, of Spring Valley, was indicted for the Class 4 felony offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (fentanyl). He is accused of having in his possession less than 15 grams of a substance containing fentanyl. A Spring Valley police officer testified before the grand jury. The defendant is free from custody after posting bond.
These indictments were presented to the grand jury by Bureau County State’s Attorney Thomas Briddick and First Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Sticka. The indictments were returned before Judge Geno Caffarini and Judge James Andreoni. There was one suppressed case.
These indictments are accusations against the defendants. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Shaw Local News Network provides local news throughout northern Illinois
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PRINCETON, Ill. — A 3-year-old child was hit by police gunfire during a hostage situation on Sunday in rural Bureau County, Illinois.
The Bureau County Sheriff’s Office and Princeton Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance call at a trailer park in the 2700 block of East Street on May 10. Illinois State Police assisted with perimeter security.
ISP said the subject was armed and holding several people hostage inside the trailer, including children. Officers entered the home and shots were fired, ISP said in its press release.
The subject and the 3-year-old child were hit by gunfire, ISP said. The child was taken to the hospital, where they were pronounced deceased. The subject was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Off camera, News 8 spoke with several people who were in the home at the time of the incident.
The mother of the 3-year-old boy, who is also the subject’s girlfriend, said that the subject was armed with a knife and was threatening to hurt her children. When police got to the scene, she said he locked himself and three children in his bedroom, threatening to kill them if police entered the home.
Soon after, she said police kicked the door down, and that shots were fired immediately after. She said there was too much chaos in the moment to see how her son died.
The mom said her 3-year-old son Damien was a joyful kid.
ISP and the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office have not provided any more details to News 8 or the family, saying it’s an active and ongoing investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. News 8 will provide updates on this incident as they are made available. We have submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the officers’ body-worn camera video.
