JOLIET, IL — A Joliet woman fatally shot a man who forced entry into her home late Friday night while she hid in a closet with her infant child.

The Joliet Police Department reported that on August 15, 2025, at approximately 10:28 p.m., officers responded to a home in the 7000 block of Hadrian Drive for a reported home invasion. Upon arrival, officers found signs of forced entry. Inside the residence, they discovered an unresponsive adult male on the second floor with an apparent gunshot wound. Paramedics later confirmed the man was deceased at the scene.

Officers located the female resident and her infant in a nearby bedroom. Police say the woman had armed herself with a handgun and hid in a closet with her child after hearing someone break into the home. When the suspect entered the bedroom where she was hiding, she fired, striking him in the head.

Investigators confirmed the intruder was wearing gloves and carrying a screwdriver at the time of the incident. Authorities say he was not known to the victim. His identity and cause of death will be released by the Will County Coroner’s Office.

The victim is cooperating fully with investigators, and the case remains under investigation.

This incident underscores an important principle of home defense: establishing a safe, defensible position can be more effective than attempting to clear your house during a break-in. By arming herself, securing her child, and positioning in a closet, the woman maximized her safety until the intruder breached her immediate space. When that moment came, she acted decisively to protect her and her child’s lives.