ORLAND PARK, Ill. — A 22-year-old man was shot multiple times on Saturday afternoon at Orland Grove Forest Preserve in Orland Park and was hospitalized in stable condition, as sheriff's detectives took over an investigation that closed a stretch of 143rd Street in the southwest Chicago suburb, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Police.
Officers were sent to the forest preserve near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road at around 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 14, 2026, to investigate reports of a shooting, sheriff's police said. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in stable condition, the sheriff's office said. He has not been named.
Three agencies on one scene
The shooting happened on forest preserve land, which is why the response crossed agency lines. Orland Park police said earlier that its own officers were assisting Cook County Forest Preserve police with an investigation near 143rd Street and West Avenue, while the Cook County Sheriff's Police — the agency that issued the public account of the shooting — is handling the investigation and the appeal for witnesses.
The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing, but that there does not appear to be any danger to the public. Officials released no description of a shooter, no vehicle information and no account of what led up to the gunfire, and no arrest had been announced by Sunday morning.
Source: WGN-TV Chicago — Man shot near suburban forest preserve Saturday afternoon; investigation underway
The gunfire was reported at around 3 p.m. on a Saturday — peak visiting hours for a forest preserve — yet the sheriff's office says there is no apparent ongoing danger to the public. What happened between the victim and whoever shot him has not been explained.
Road closures around the preserve
While officers worked, 143rd Street was closed in both directions at West Avenue and at Highland Avenue, authorities said. Eastbound 143rd Street reopened at around 4:15 p.m., while the westbound lanes remained closed into the later afternoon. LaGrange Road — U.S. Route 45, the main north-south arterial through Orland Park — runs along the preserve's eastern side at the same junction.
What is solid
- A 22-year-old man was shot multiple times at Orland Grove Forest Preserve near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road on Saturday afternoon, November 14, and was in stable condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn — Cook County Sheriff's Police.
- Orland Park police assisted Forest Preserve police near 143rd Street and West Avenue, and 143rd Street was closed in both directions at West Avenue and Highland Avenue, with eastbound lanes reopening around 4:15 p.m.
- The sheriff's office says the investigation is ongoing and there is no apparent danger to the public.
What is only claimed
- Almost everything about the shooting itself remains unreleased: no suspect description, no motive, no account of whether the man was targeted or knew the shooter, and no arrest announced. Any claim about why it happened would be speculation at this stage.
A preserve inside a busy suburb
Orland Grove is part of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the ring of protected woodland, prairie and picnic grounds that runs through Chicago's suburbs and is patrolled on the ground by the Forest Preserve District's own police. Orland Park, a village of the southwest suburbs, sits along the LaGrange Road corridor, and its preserves draw walkers, cyclists and families from across the area on weekend afternoons — which is what makes a shooting there, in daylight, stand out to residents.
What happens next
Sheriff's police detectives are asking anyone with information to call 708-865-4896. The next facts in this case will come from that investigation: whether a suspect is identified, whether preserve or nearby business cameras captured the shooting or a vehicle leaving the area, and whether the victim — stable at Advocate Christ — can tell detectives what happened. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the sheriff's office releases more.