However, Fox 32 Chicago and the Associated Press reported late Tuesday that the investigative task force had determined that Gliniewicz shot himself. However, everyone cited anonymous sources while reporting. A sheriff’s office representative declined further comment. He described the suspects as two white men and one black man. Police launched a massive manhunt, but the men were never identified.
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According to Global Positioning System data, Gliniewicz was near the crime scene for around 20 minutes before radioing the suspicious activity.
Authorities are investigating after an adult male and child were found dead inside a pickup truck in Florida City, early Wednesday morning. Dispatchers lost contact with Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran and a fixture in Fox Lake, and responding officers found him shot and his.40-caliber handgun rested nearby. No trace of the men was found in surveillance footage from the area, though investigators have yet to release information about unidentified DNA samples that were found at the scene. He said his father was quite excited about his post-retirement plans.
Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd told NBC Chicago at that time that without more information from police he couldn’t rule out causes of death, including suicide. Authorities said he was killed with his own service weapon.
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More than 100 investigators stayed on the case for weeks, though questions arose in mid-September, and investigators began to concede that they could not rule out suicide or an accident. Gliniewicz was shot with his own gun – once in the front right of his vest and once in the upper-left chest.
