An Indiana woman has been charged in connection to shootings that damaged two Shorewood homes, including the residence of state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel.

Dana Thompson, 32 of Hammond, Indiana, has been charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of aggravated possession of a firearm in a vehicle, according to the Shorewood Police Department.

Shorewood police received three separate calls in the early hours of Tuesday morning about gunfire.

The first call, which was received at 4:50 a.m., brought officers to the area of Ca-Crest Drive and Highland Drive, although no damage was discovered near the scene of the reported sound of gunfire.

Later in the day, Shorewood police officers said they were called to the 500 block of Bethany Drive, where a house had been struck three times by small-caliber bullets. While officers were processing the scene, the department received a third call from the 500 block of Northgate Lane, where a second home was struck by one bullet.

Police reported that the bullets appeared to have come from the same weapon, and the suspect was believed to be responsible for the shootings at both homes, although Shorewood Police Chief Phillip Arnold said the incidents were not connected in any other way.

No injuries were reported in any of the incidents, despite residents – including Loughran Cappel and her family – being home when both houses were hit.

Officers were able to identify Thompson as the shooter and driver from video evidence obtained from several residences in the area and license plate reader (LPR) technology, according to Shorewood police.

Thompson’s vehicle was located on Tuesday morning, based on LPR data, in Lansing, Illinois, and the information was sent to the Lansing Police Department, Shorewood police said.

“Within 30 minutes, Lansing PD advised us that they had located both the vehicle and Thompson. The vehicle was towed and Thompson transported to Shorewood PD,” police said in a statement released Wednesday evening.

Thompson admitted to committing the shootings and told officers that her intended target was a relative who lives in the area, according to police.

Investigators confirmed the address of the relative, and in talking with the relative, confirmed the relationship and “their subsequent multi-year estrangement,” police said.

‘It was scary’

On Wednesday morning, Loughran Cappel, a Democrat, issued a statement saying that the senator and her family were safe.

“I am grateful to Chief Arnold, law enforcement and investigators for their work detaining a suspect and working diligently to get to the bottom of this. My family and I are safe, and I’m thankful that no one was hurt. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigation,” the statement read.

Arnold said Wednesday morning the department believed that Loughran Cappel was not targeted by the shooter and that the incident was “totally random.”

Loughran Cappel told The Herald-News that both she and her son heard the shot, which struck the upper level of the house.

“My son was up and said he heard a loud noise that he thought might be a shot, but he didn’t say anything until he heard us get up about 45 minutes later,” Loughran Cappel said. “I heard some noise, but I thought that something might have fallen. It wasn’t until I talked to my son that we went and checked for damage, and I called the police.”

The timing of when Loughran Cappel said her son heard the shot was similar to the first incident report: between 4:45 and 5 a.m.

“It was scary,” she said. “We all think we’re safe. You don’t think this would happen, but gun violence can touch everyone. It doesn’t matter where you are.”

Loughran Cappel commended Shorewood police for their fast work in apprehending the suspect and said she is “really sad” for the other affected Shorewood family, whom she plans to reach out to in the coming days.

“At times like these, I am reminded of how precious peace and safety are in our communities,” Loughran Cappel said in her official statement. “Violence is never the answer.”

Although police do not believe the lawmaker was deliberately targeted in the incident, the shooting comes amid increased nationwide discussions about the rise of political violence in light of the Sept. 10 shooting death of conservative podcaster and activist Charlie Kirk, as well as the June murder of Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of her fellow state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

Kirk was killed during a speaking event at a college campus in Utah, while the Minnesota politicians were targeted in their homes.

Loughran Cappel said Wednesday morning that while the shooting was not politically motivated, it was the first thing that crossed her mind given the current climate.

“I know it was not targeted, but unfortunately, the way our climate is right now, it was the first thing I thought of, and it’s what a lot of people I’m hearing from thought. I think everyone is very on edge, and it has really shaken up the community,” Loughran Cappel said

Loughran Cappel said she believes this is a reminder of the need for continued investment from the state in both violence prevention efforts and local law enforcement.

“The Shorewood police have done a fantastic job finding the suspect in less than 24 hours,” Loughran Cappel said. “Our law enforcement in the district is really top-notch, and we need to continue investing in our law enforcement to give them the tools they need to find people like this.”