Joliet man charged after fight leads to shooting

JOLIET, Ill. – A Joliet man has been charged after police said his gun went off during a fight Monday afternoon, leaving another man wounded.

What we know:

Joseph Blakemore, 39, was charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm.

Officers responded around 1:30 p.m. Sunday to the 200 block of North Hickory Street for a report of a stabbing but instead found a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the groin, according to Joliet police. The victim was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses told police they heard an argument followed by gunfire outside an apartment building. An armed man was reportedly seen running into the building after the shooting. Officers set up a perimeter and issued a shelter-in-place order for the area before ordering residents to exit the building.

Police said Blakemore, believed to be the man carrying a gun, was among those who came out and was detained for questioning. Another man, 28-year-old Joshua Winters, was also arrested on an unrelated Will County warrant for failing to appear in court on previous weapons charges.

Investigators believe Blakemore and the victim got into a fight when Blakemore’s gun went off. Officers recovered a loaded handgun from an apartment during a consent search, later determining it had been reported stolen.

Blakemore was treated at St. Joseph Medical Center for a preexisting medical condition before being processed at the Joliet Police Department and transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.