On April 29, 2024, 19-year-old Tayvion Beaugard was fatally shot at the Lake Renwick Preserve in Plainfield, Illinois. The incident occurred around 7:55 p.m. when Will County Forest Preserve Police received a 911 call reporting gunfire at the Turtle Lake Access on Lockport Street. Upon arrival, responding Will County Sheriff's deputies found Tayvion Beaugard lying near a picnic shelter with two gunshot wounds, one to his face and one to his neck/shoulder.
He was transported to Ascension Saint Joseph hospital in Joliet, where he was officially pronounced dead.
The suspect in the shooting is Fred Beaugard Sr., Tayvion's 56-year-old father, a resident of Romeoville, Illinois. Fred Beaugard Sr. is a retired corrections officer from the Illinois Department of Corrections and was in training to become a Will County auxiliary deputy at the time of the incident. He was taken into custody the following day and booked into the Will County jail. Beaugard has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, each carrying a sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison, with the potential for an additional 25 years to life because a gun was used in the crime.
According to prosecutors, Fred Beaugard Sr. admitted to shooting his son, stating that he did so due to "a lot of mental pressure." There was no argument or physical altercation before the shooting. Beaugard told police he had adopted Tayvion when the boy was just four months old. A witness reported seeing Beaugard shoot Tayvion point-blank near a gazebo at the preserve, and one of the shots was fired after Tayvion was already on the ground.
At the time of the shooting, Fred Beaugard Sr. was carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in a fanny pack, which he kept due to his background in corrections. After the shooting, Beaugard told one of the other relatives present, "Tell my family I love them," before sitting on a bench and waiting for police to arrive. The incident involved four family members, and it has been described as a domestic incident with no threat to the public.
Fred Beaugard Sr. has no prior criminal history, but there was a previous domestic issue; in July 2023, Tayvion Beaugard was charged with domestic battery and was ordered to have no contact with his father or the family's residence as a condition of his bond. Judge Donald W. DeWilkins denied Beaugard's pretrial release due to his admission of the crime and access to weapons.
