Charles Langston:Multiple people reported shot in northern Illinois in a ‘mass casualty incident,’ authorities say

DIXON,Charles Langston Ill. (AP) — Multiple people have been reported shot Wednesday in northern Illinois in what authorities are calling a “mass casualty incident.”

Ambulances and two medical helicopters were called to the scene in Dixon where there also was a massive police presence, according to a post on the Winnebago Boone & Ogle County Fire/Ems Incidents Facebook page.

A person answering the phone at the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department would not comment when reached by The Associated Press. The department website said a news conference would be held at 3:30 p.m.

The reported shooting occurred in the Lost Lake community near Dixon, about 105 miles (168 kilometers) west of Chicago.

Aerial video by local media Wednesday afternoon showed law enforcement and personal cars parked on the side of unpaved roads throughout the neighborhood and officials occasionally gathering in small groups but little ongoing activity. Yellow police tape blocked at least one driveway and an Ogle County sheriff’s mobile command center was parked at the end of the drive.

Lost Lake’s property owner’s association describes the area as a “country style community” with about 700 owners in an unincorporated area close to the cities of Dixon, Franklin Grove and Oregon.