Wife of a man accused of shooting a neighbor as part of a hate crime that is under investigation

LOCKPORT, Ill. – The wife of a man accused of shooting his neighbor in a racially motivated incident is under investigation.

Investigators say 70-year-old John Shadbar’s wife works as a correctional officer at the Cook County Jail and that she was home when her husband allegedly shot their neighbor.

She has been removed pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Shadbar is charged with nine crimes, including attempted murder and a hate crime.

He is accused of shooting 45-year-old Melissa Robertson with a rifle on Tuesday.

Investigators executed a search warrant at Shadbar’s home, where five guns were found inside a wall. There were two AK-47 rifles, a shotgun and two handguns.

The shooting is believed to have involved one of the AK-47 rifles.

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Robertson’s family says Shadbar has harassed them and used racial slurs against them since they moved into the neighborhood 10 years ago. Both of Robertson’s sons are black.

On Thursday, they spoke at the Will County Courthouse after Shadbar’s first appearance and described what they experienced.

“He just said the N-word and called me things I’m not. And as hard as it may be, I know I’m head strong and I just ignored it, but situations like this are hard to ignore,” said Robertson’s stepson Mikael Johnson.

Robertson is still struggling to recover from his injuries. She was shot in the stomach and hand.

Shadbar is due back in court on May 23.

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