Investigators Thursday continued to search for the gun used in the New Year’s Eve shooting of a mail carrier in Elk Grove Village.
The Ned Brown Forest Preserve, commonly known as Busse Woods, was one of the sites visited by authorities looking for the 9 mm handgun they say was used to shoot 36-year-old postal worker Stephen Casazza Jr. of Arlington Heights in a nearby Elk Grove Village neighborhood.
A Cook County Forest Preserve District police vehicle blocked the Beisner Road entrance to Busse Woods at times Thursday while investigators conducted their search.
The hunt for clues and a motive continues even after federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged 24-year-old Cameron Ruebusch, of the 200 block of West Brantwood Avenue, in the Dec. 31 shooting. If found guilty of assaulting a federal employee with a weapon, Ruebusch could face as much as 20 years in prison.
Authorities say Ruebusch, armed with a handgun, tapped on the window of Casazza’s unmarked van around 6 p.m. Monday in front of Ruebusch’s house and asked, “What’s up, man?” Casazza put the van in drive and tried to get away, but Ruebusch fired at least three shots that critically injured the carrier, according to court documents.
“We’re actively still working the investigation,” said Julie Kenney, a spokeswoman for the United States Postal Inspection Service, which is leading a joint investigation with Elk Grove Village police. “We’re looking for evidence. We’re not done. There’s still searching.”
Investigators were spotted Thursday morning on the south end of Busse Woods, where Ruebusch may have tried to dispose of the gun, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors.