Man dies in shootout with cops in Lyons after killing his wife: police

LYONS, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Authorities fatally shot a man who fired at them on Friday afternoon in west suburban Lyons, hours after the man had killed his estranged wife in Sycamore, according to police.

Lidia Juarez had an order of protection against her 44-year-old husband Antonio Juarez, according to a statement from Sycamore police.

The 37-year-old woman was found dead with a gunshot wound inside her car about 2 p.m. outside the Illinois Dept. of Human Services office where she worked at 1629 Afton Road in Sycamore, police said.

Investigators found out that Antonio Juarez had been staying at a hotel nearby, and witnesses saw him take off after the shooting in his Chrysler 300, police said.

About 6 p.m., Illinois State Police investigators tracked the car down and, along with police from multiple agencies, began following him in Lyons, according to state police.

When they tried to pull Antonio Juarez over near the intersection of Ogden and Joliet avenues, he began firing a gun at the officers, police said.

The officers returned fire, killing the man at the scene, police said. It wasn’t clear which officers struck him.

No police were hurt. They recovered a firearm from Antonio Juarez, police said.

He had been wanted on a no-bond arrest warrant issued March 10 for violating an order of protection for his wife, police said. Another warrant was issued March 24 for failure to appear in court for a domestic battery case.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our colleagues, Lidia Juarez,” IDHS secretary James Dimas said in a statement.

“Lidia was a public servant devoted to building up the lives of others through her work as a human services caseworker,” Dimas said. “We offer our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to her family, fellow colleagues and friends.”

Grief counselors were being made available to IDHS workers.

State police are investigating the shooting of Antonio Juarez, as Sycamore police probe Lidia Juarez’s death.