5 people found dead in Buffalo Grove home, officials say

Five people were found dead Wednesday in a Buffalo Grove home, officials of the suburban village said. Two of the deceased are children, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said Thursday morning.

Police had been dispatched to a single-family residence at 11:12 a.m. to conduct a well-being check on a woman and forced their way inside after being unable to make contact. Officers found five bodies inside the home, a news release shared to Buffalo Grove’s Facebook page said.

Early police investigations indicate the deaths stemmed from a “domestic-related incident,” the release said. The deaths occurred on the 2800 block of Acacia Terrace, it added.

Buffalo Grove officials asked community members to avoid the area in another news release shared earlier Wednesday by village spokesperson Molly Gillespie. Gillespie cited “heavy police activity” at the site where the dead were found, but said there was “no threat to the public” at the time.

Officials said again that there was no threat to the public in their Wednesday night news release.

The Lake County Major Crime Task Force is assisting Buffalo Grove police investigating the deaths.

The names of the five people that who died are being withheld until a coroner’s examination is completed and family members are notified, the release said.

As of about 9 p.m., yellow tape and police cars cordoned off the block. Emergency personnel had set up a tent outside a home shrouded by trees at 2830 Acacia Terrace but an officer near the scene said he was unable to confirm that the address was the site where the dead had been found.

News vans lined the winding street. The large, two-story homes nearby were quiet, but a few neighbors walked up to the police line.

“We never would have expected anything like this to ever happen here” said Samuel Entin, who has grown up in the Buffalo Grove neighborhood. The 18-year-old had heard about the deaths hours earlier.

Entin and his family checked in on friends, worried they might be the ones who had been found, he said.

Justin Katin learned of the tragedy when a neighbor saw police lights through their backyard. The 17-year-old lives nearby across the golf course, he said.

“I usually go on walks around this street. Everyone is so friendly and says ‘hi,’” Katin said.

Pioneer Press reporter Gavin Good contributed.