FirstAlerts
Mass Casualty IncidentsVersion 12

Two School Custodians Found Dead Inside Chicago Elementary School

Authorities said a 48-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man, both custodians, were discovered with gunshot wounds inside Mark Twain Elementary School on August 10, 2026, with no students in the building.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 12, 2026, 12:38 a.m. ET
Two custodians were found dead inside in on August 10, 2026. Authorities said a 48-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man, both custodians, were discovered with single gunshot wounds to the head Two outlets, wdov.iheart.com and 720thevoice.iheart.com, placed the discovery more broadly on Monday afternoon, August 10. Officials have not released the identities of the two people who died. SEIU Local 73, the union representing the custodians, said: "Two families have lost a loved one and our prayers are with their families, and the staff, students, and families at ." The school's principal, Matthew Moline, said: "We know that this news will be deeply concerning to our families and staff." No students were in the building at the time, according to the reporting, which said the first day of classes was scheduled for Monday, August 24. Several outlets, including 1430kasi.iheart.com, wlac.iheart.com, powertalk1460.iheart.com, 1450wkip.iheart.com and 590kqnt.iheart.com, described custodians at work inside the school; wonw1280.iheart.com placed the school in 's Garfield Ridge neighborhood. Police and the Public Schools Office of Safety and Security responded. The outlets differ over whom they credit for the account rather than over the number of dead. Some, among them klvi.iheart.com, 1019bigwaax.iheart.com, 600kcol.iheart.com and wflaorlando.iheart.com, attributed it to police and union officials; others, including woodradio.iheart.com, kwhn.iheart.com, wjdx.iheart.com, wgiram.iheart.com and newsradiowkcy.iheart.com, attributed it to a police report cited by The Sun Times. A suspect is , and accounts of how differ. 600kcol.iheart.com, 1430kasi.iheart.com, newstalk1230.iheart.com, kogo.iheart.com and khow.iheart.com reported that ; klvi.iheart.com, kwhn.iheart.com, wrko.iheart.com, wflaorlando.iheart.com, newsradio967.iheart.com, woodradio.iheart.com, wgy.iheart.com, wjdx.iheart.com, wdov.iheart.com, 590kqnt.iheart.com, wonw1280.iheart.com, newsradio1470.iheart.com, 1450wkip.iheart.com and powertalk1460.iheart.com attributed the account to police or described the death as self-inflicted; 1019bigwaax.iheart.com, newsradio1049.iheart.com, wmeq.iheart.com and newstalk1400online.iheart.com attributed it to the police report; and wlac.iheart.com, wgiram.iheart.com, 720thevoice.iheart.com, wspd.iheart.com, whnz.iheart.com and newsradiowkcy.iheart.com described him as without further attribution. Officials have not released his name and have not stated a motive. Figures and details may be revised. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day: call or text 988.

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Revision history

  1. Version 1212 Aug 2026, 04:38current

    No new facts; headline and standfirst reworked to lead with the custodians and the school setting, attribution wording tightened.

  2. Version 1112 Aug 2026, 04:28

    Added the 988 crisis line verbatim as the closing line and included khow.iheart.com among outlets attributing the self-inflicted account to police.

  3. Version 1012 Aug 2026, 04:24

    Expanded the attribution lists for the suspect's manner of death to include all reporting outlets (adding newstalk1230, kogo, wrko, wgy, whnz, newsradio1470 and wmeq).

  4. Version 912 Aug 2026, 04:03

    Condensed source-attribution lists, added wspd and newstalk1400online to the suspect-death attributions, and removed the crisis-line footer as it was not supplied in the fact set.

  5. Version 812 Aug 2026, 03:58

    Added 720thevoice.iheart.com to the outlets placing the discovery on Monday afternoon and to the attribution and setting groupings, and added wjdx.iheart.com where its account matched.

  6. Version 712 Aug 2026, 03:52

    Added wdov.iheart.com's broader "Monday afternoon" timing as a competing account, moved the victims and union statement higher, and expanded the attribution and setting lists to include all 17 outlets, including Garfield Ridge as reported by wonw1280.iheart.com.

  7. Version 612 Aug 2026, 03:47

    Added klvi.iheart.com's reporting to the setting and suspect-death attributions, and cited that source.

  8. Version 512 Aug 2026, 03:42

    No new facts; expanded the list of outlets credited for each attribution of the deaths, the school-day setting and the manner of the suspect's death.

  9. Version 412 Aug 2026, 03:38

    Added newsradiowkcy.iheart.com to the attribution groupings for the police-report sourcing, the setting and the self-inflicted death; minor tightening.

  10. Version 312 Aug 2026, 03:33

    Named the outlets crediting the Chicago police report via The Chicago Sun Times and added powertalk1460.iheart.com to the setting and self-inflicted-injury attributions.

  11. Version 212 Aug 2026, 03:28

    Added police account that the 63-year-old custodian took his own life after allegedly shooting the woman, with competing attributions, and expanded the sourcing on the no-students-present detail.

  12. Version 112 Aug 2026, 03:23

    First published.

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