A three-year-old boy, Damian Camacho, was killed by police gunfire on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2026, during a hostage incident at a trailer park in Princeton, Illinois. Deputies from the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Princeton Police Department responded to an early-morning domestic disturbance that escalated into a standoff after 42-year-old Anthony D. Rodriguez armed himself with a knife and barricaded himself in a bedroom with Damian and two other children.

Reports say Rodriguez had threatened to harm the children and locked the bedroom, warning officers he would kill them if they entered. Negotiations reportedly failed and officers, having heard screaming from inside, breached the door. Shots were fired as officers entered; Damian and Rodriguez were struck by gunfire. Damian was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead; an autopsy attributed his death to a gunshot injury. Rodriguez was hospitalized and later taken into custody; he faces multiple charges including aggravated unlawful restraint, domestic battery and aggravated assault. The Illinois State Police is investigating the officer-involved shooting and the community has held a vigil and fundraising for the family.

Are there witnesses or neighbors who saw the standoff or the moments before officers entered the home?