Suspect in Custody After Domestic Stabbing
A former Correctional Officer with the Cook County Department of Corrections is in custody accused of stabbing a former girlfriend multiple times in the parking lot of Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park Sunday.
According to the Orland Park Police Department, on Sunday, August 27, 2023, at approximately 1:50 p.m., Orland Park Police Officers responded to a call from an employee of LifeTime Fitness, 16333 La Grange Road. The employee stated a patron had been stabbed in the parking lot of the facility.
Upon arrival, the officers learned that the offender had fled from the scene. While aid was being rendered to the victim, police officers spotted the offender’s vehicle northbound on La Grange Road. The offender, now identified by Peter Surdyk, was stopped and taken into custody, according to the Orland Park Police Department.
Orland Fire District paramedics assessed the stabbing victim on the floor near the front check-in desk at Lifetime Fitness, searching for all of her stab wounds … then continued emergency treatment. The female victim was then transported to a local hospital by Orland Fire District paramedics where she is today listed in “stable condition” according to the Orland Park Police Department.
Further investigation revealed that Peter Surdyk and the victim have an on-again, off-again relationship for the past year, according to Orland Park police. The victim reported to CARDINAL NEWS that the relationship had ended eight months ago, when the suspect became abusive, and destroyed some of her property. He never previously struck her, according to the victim.
Police state that investigators also learned that Surdyk followed the victim to LifeTime Fitness, and waited for the victim to exit the building before the attack. The victim had just finished a “cardio only” workout at Lifetime Fitness, and was walking to her car.
The victim reported that she did not see Surdyk’s vehicle (a gray Chevy Camaro), but suddenly he appeared in the parking lot. He stabbed her at least once while she began to flee on foot. She fell when the suspect allegedly punched her in the back of her head, and stabbed her again while she was on the ground. Allegedly, Surdyk was on top of the victim and stabbing her multiple times. That’s when at least one Good Samaritan (possibly two Good Samaritans) came to her aid, and got Surdyk off of her long enough to give the victim an opportunity to run back inside LifeTime Fitness. During the struggle Surdyk also dropped the knife.
The stabbing victim suffered a total of five stab wounds in the back — stab wounds deep enough to cause the collapse of both of her lungs. Among other treatment, she was treated with chest tubes to relieve excessive air pressure inside her chest that had escaped outside her lungs.
The stabbing victim later learned that the suspect had flattened the tires of her vehicle, and she was thankful she didn’t make it to her car because she doesn’t think she would have made it back to the safety of Lifetime Fitness if she were stopped and attacked at her car. The victim believes Peter Surdyk was trying to kill her.
Police investigators worked with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, who approved the following charges against Peter F. Surdyk (male, age 43) of Chicago Ridge, Illinois …
Attempted Murder (Class X Felony)
Aggravated Domestic Battery (Class 2 Felony)
Aggravated Battery with Great Bodily Harm (Class 3 Felony)
Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon (Class 3 Felony)
Aggravated Battery in a Public Place (Class 3 Felony)
According to Illinois Answers Project’s Illinois Public Salaries Database Peter F. Surdyk worked as a Cook County Department of Corrections Correctional Officer at least from 2017 to 2019.
Earlier report …
Police, firefighters and paramedics from Orland Park responded about 1:52 p.m. Sunday, August 27, 2023 to a report that a male stabbed a female in the parking lot of Lifetime Fitness, 16333 South La Grange Road in Orland Park. The male attacker fled the scene.
The suspect was described as a male/white with a bald head. A witness reported that another male helped the victim by defending her when she was attacked. Initially, the Good Samaritan was not reported to be injured. A vehicle nearby in the parking lot was discovered with a smashed window.
The scene was immediately declared secure by police; and paramedics moved inside to help the victim. A female adult was transported to a Level II trauma center hospital nearby. Initially, her condition was not released.
Orland Park police located the suspect in a gray or silver Chevy Camaro within about five minutes. The suspect was driving northbound on La Grange Road. Police were able to stop the suspect’s vehicle about two miles north of the crime scene on La Grange Road, just south of 147th Street near the Huntington Bank and shopping mall Orland Square.
A video shared on Arab Chicago social media showed police on the scene with paramedics next to a silver/gray Chevy Camaro. A bald male was on a yellow ambulance cot on the side of the road surrounded by police officers and fire district paramedics. Another video on social media showed a female inside Lifetime Fitness being assessed and treated by Orland Fire Rescue paramedics for apparent stab wounds to the upper body. She was conscious and seated on the floor near the front desk where members routinely check in to Lifetime Fitness.
Police immediately set up a crime scene perimeter, and began collecting evidence and acquiring photo images of the scene.
On Sunday, neither the Village of Orland Park nor the Orland Park Police Department released information regarding the stabbing on a government website or official social media account. There was no official statement indicating whether the attacker and victim knew each other, or not.
The initial information in this article from Sunday was an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
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