• 2025-07-31 14:58:39
• Gun Violence

CARY, IL — The Lake County Coroner's Office has identified a 32-year-old Cary man who appears to have fatally shot himself shortly after approaching two teens in a suspicious incident Tuesday afternoon.

Michael Porter died as a result of a gunshot wound to the neck, according to preliminary results from an autopsy.

The fatal shooting happened in a parking lot in the area of Crystal Lake Road and Foxford Drive in unincorporated Cary on Tuesday. At the time, a deputy with the McHenry County Sheriff's Office was attempting to pull the sedan over while responding to the reported suspicious incident in Cary, according to police.

Porter was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the coroner's office.

Meanwhile, the Lake County Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate the suspicious incident, which occurred in the area of Fox River Road and North Harvest Glen Road in unincorporated Cary at about 3:25 p.m. on Tuesday.

At that time, two teens reported they were walking home and were approached by a sedan driven by a 32-year-old Cary man, said Christopher Covelli, deputy chief for the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The sedan pulled in front of the girls and parked in the direction they were walking.

The man, who was wearing a mask, got out, Covelli said. The teens became scared and ran toward their home. When they got there, they told the father and brother of one of the teens what had happened, Covelli said.

"The father and brother drove through the subdivision to see if they could locate the vehicle and potentially obtain a license plate. The two located the vehicle driving in the neighborhood," he said.

The driver ended up blocking the path of the father and brother and made it clear that he was armed with a gun. The father and brother then called 911, Covelli said.

The McHenry County Sheriff's Office deputy responded and found the sedan in the parking lot in the area of Crystal Lake Road and Foxford Drive in unincorporated Cary where Porter then fatally shot himself, according to authorities.

"This is undoubtedly a tragic situation for everyone involved. The teens in this case did the right thing by not engaging with the man and running away, while summoning trusted adults to help them. We are very thankful they are safe," Covelli said.

McHenry County Conservation District Police are investigating the death, and the Lake County Sheriff's Office is investigating the preceding incident.

It's unclear at this point what the man planned to do and why he approached the girls.

"We don't know at this time what his intentions were, only know what his actions were," Covelli said.

He did drive around the subdivision where one of the girls lived, which was the house they ran back to, Covelli said.

"It appears he was looking for them following the incident," he said.