Inset left: A woman identified as Katelyn Harmon brandishing a knife (Facebook). Inset right: Katelyn Harmon (Gurnee Police Department). Background: The Hobby Lobby parking lot where a series of attacks began in Gurnee, Ill. (Google Maps).
A Wisconsin woman is behind bars after recording herself bragging about escaping the clutches of law enforcement in the aftermath of hitting people with her car in a mall parking lot, police in Illinois say. The braggadocio came just moments before an allegedly related knife attack.
Katelyn A. Harmon, 25, stands accused of two counts each of attempted murder in the first degree, failure to report a crash involving personal injury, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, and four counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.
The underlying incident occurred late Monday morning in the parking lot of Gurnee Mills, an outlet mall named after a medium-sized village in the northern reaches of the broader Chicago metro area.
The initial incident occurred around 10:05 a.m. in a Hobby Lobby parking lot on West Grand Avenue, according to a press release issued by the Gurnee Police Department.
There, the defendant allegedly drove her 2010 Toyota Camry into a 79-year-old man who was standing near his own vehicle. After that, Harmon used her car to attack a 60-year-old woman, police said.
"The 79-year-old male sustained serious injuries and was transported to Advocate Condell Hospital," the press release reads. "The 60-year-old female sustained an ankle injury and was transported to Lake Forest Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The vehicle fled the scene prior to the officers' arrival."
At 10:40 a.m., police issued an alert to surrounding law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the wanted Camry. The alert noted the wanted car had sustained visible damage to its windshield on the passenger side due to the impact of hitting the two pedestrians.
But all the while, Harmon was close by, police allege.
Instead of leaving the area entirely, Harmon drove some 850 feet to the nearby parking lot behind a Panera Bread and other retailers, police said. Then, at 10:31 a.m., she allegedly posted a confession on Facebook — containing two images of the damage to her Camry.
"I ran through gurnee mills mall parking lot and ran over people in the name of the light good intentions praise allah Hare Krishna thank you Jesus," the incriminating Facebook post reads.
And then the posting continued.
At 10:37 a.m., while sitting in her car, Harmon posted a short clip of herself brandishing a large kitchen knife and goading police.
"Hey, they still haven't found me," the woman says. "I guess I outsmarted the cops. God always wins. Here's a — I'm outside this Panera Bread next to Gurnee Mills. Someone should call the cops on me. I mean, I was a good person and now I'm homeless. So, apparently, good people don't win anymore. Whoops — still won."
Minutes after the video was posted, the defendant got out of her car and attacked a Hyundai Tucson SUV that had parked next to her, according to the Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
"The female used a large butcher knife to strike the vehicle's window and then slashed the driver's side tire," the police department said. "When the male exited his vehicle, a physical struggle ensued. The male sustained several lacerations to his hands but was able to disarm the female and restrain her until police arrived."
Several members of law enforcement descended on the area and Harmon was taken down with a Taser-like device, police said.
The violence appeared random as there was no prior connection between the defendant and the victims, according to law enforcement.
On Wednesday, Harmon appeared before a judge for an initial appearance where authorities played a custodial interview with investigators, according to a courtroom report by the Scanner.
"You said you came out here for premeditated murder?" an officer asks.
To which Harmon replies: "I was planning on murdering someone."
The officer asked why and the woman said: "I just went rogue."
Later on in the interview, the officer explains that there are resources for the homeless — which prompts the defendant to laugh and say: "Oh, I'm not getting out of here. I'm not getting out of here. I'll do it again. I need help."
Harmon is next slated to appear in court on Feb. 26.
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