Six shot near ISU campus in Normal, Illinois, including two juveniles

Six people were shot at an apartment party near Illinois State University early Sunday. Two juveniles were among the victims; no arrests have been made.

Six people shot at apartment party near Illinois State University campus

Six people — among them two juveniles — were shot in the early hours of Sunday morning in a residential neighbourhood in Normal, Illinois, jamaicaobserver.com reports, citing local authorities.

Normal Police responded at around 2:40 a.m. to the 700 block of Franklin Avenue, a street of apartments and homes situated between Illinois State University (ISU) and the Carle BroMenn Medical Center. Officers found multiple people outside with gunshot wounds. All six were taken to hospital; none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

The victims include two juvenile males, two adult males, and two adult females. ISU Police confirmed that two of those injured are enrolled students at the university.

Normal Police spokesperson Brad Park said the shooting took place in the parking lot of an apartment building where a large party had gathered. Based on the preliminary investigation, police said the incident appears to be isolated. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, no arrests had been made and no suspects had been identified.

Normal Police Chief Steve Petrilli said he was unable to provide further detail on the investigation, citing the involvement of juveniles, but added: "I can say we have zero tolerance for violence in Normal, and we are utilizing all of our resources to identify and bring the responsible suspect(s) to justice."

The decision by ISU not to issue an Emergency Alert to the campus community drew criticism, including from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who has a personal connection to one of the victims. ISU has sent such alerts for other recent off-campus incidents, including a shooting on 14 February that left a 16-year-old injured, a shots-fired report on Cherry Street in 2023, and another on Main Street in 2022.

A university spokesperson said Normal Police are handling the investigation since the incident occurred off-campus but did not explain why no alert was issued. ISU Police Chief Aaron Woodruff said campus notifications are sent on a case-by-case basis "based on the totality of the circumstances," adding: "There have been numerous similar incidents off campus where we did not send an alert but issued a crime advisory or community update so this is not an outlier."

Sunday's shooting is the latest in a series of gun violence incidents in and around the ISU campus. One person was shot last April outside an event at ISU's Bone Student Center. On 29 September 2024, during ISU's homecoming weekend, a shooting near the same venue left one person dead and another injured.

The incident took place approximately one mile north of the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. A university spokesperson said it appears no IWU students were involved, noting that students had been on spring break during the preceding week.

Source: Google News JM — Crime