Joliet Township mass shooting victim ‘had her whole future ahead of her,’ mother says

Sharyl Mathews said the death of her daughter during a mass shooting in Joliet Township early Sunday morning didn’t feel real until Tuesday.

Mathews spent the day writing an obituary for Holly, 22, who was killed along with Jonathan Ceballos, also 22, after a spray of bullets hit several party goers. Police attributed the shooting to gang violence.

“She had her whole future ahead of her,” Mathews said of Holly, adding that the past few days for her family have been “a nightmare.”

Mathews said Holly went with her fiance to a car show on Saturday and then to a Halloween party in Frankfort with her fiance’s sister. That party ended at midnight and they got word of another party near Joliet and decided to head there.

The sheriff’s office said in a news release the party hosts had initially invited friends for a Halloween party using a social media site. The invitation spread over social media and attracted more guests, many of whom had no association with the hosts.

Mathews said her daughter loved Halloween and dancing, so she wanted to go to the second party. She guessed it took maybe 15 to 20 minutes for them to get to the house at 1018 E. Jackson St. in Joliet Township, likely just minutes before the shooting started.

After hearing from Holly’s fiance that she had been shot, Mathews said she went to two area hospitals to look for her, not knowing where she was.

Ultimately, Mathews said she was told to go home to wait for police to get back to her. Then, around 6 a.m. Sunday, there was a knock at her door by police with the news of Holly’s death.

“I fell to the ground,” Mathews said.

Her daughter had been pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Will County Coroner’s office. She died of a single gunshot wound.

Mathews said her daughter was getting ready to graduate from Joliet Junior College next year after studying to become an arborist. Holly initially stuidied nursing and worked at a nursing home but decided to switch her major, her mother said.

While she hadn’t yet decided on any future education goals, Mathews said her daughter was focused on preparing for her wedding after getting engaged about two weeks before she died.

“She was a beautiful girl,” Mathews said. “She’d light up a room.”

The Will County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the shooting and detectives have spoken to over 70 attendees, but still want more to come forward.

No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Kathy Hoffmeyer, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said detectives continue to cultivate leads and are sifting through a “substantial” amount of photo and video evidence taken at the party.

Hoffmeyer added investigators believe members from two local gangs came to the party uninvited, as many attendees did, and were responsible for the violence. She added police are “positive” that Mathews, Ceballos and the host of the party didn’t have any involvement with the two gangs.

Whether any violence precipitated the shooting is still under investigation, Hoffmeyer said.

“We’re encouraging people to come forward,” she added.

Nine total victims were transported to area hospitals, police said, including one person who was still in critical condition with a gunshot wound as of Tuesday. Most had been released as of Tuesday.

Will County Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said five of the attendees had non-life threatening gunshot wounds, and three others had non-life threatening injuries from being trampled on falling, as the nearly 200 partygoers fled the shooting.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking every person who attended the party to call 815-727-8574 to speak with a detective. If anyone has information, cellphone pictures or video of the party, or potential suspect information, they are urged to contact the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

Those who want to remain anonymous can use the Will County Sheriff’s website at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip, or on the Will County Sheriff’s Office App that is available in iOS and Android platforms. You can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers by telephone at 800-323-6734, or by computer at www.crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/.