EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Four people have been arrested after a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student was shot near campus in what the college is calling a random act of violence.
The shooting happened at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday on the ramp from Illinois Route 157 to Interstate 270 eastbound. Illinois State Police said the suspects pulled their car up to another car and shot a 26-year-old Chicago man.
According to The Alestle, the college's student newspaper, the victim was a passenger in the car. The driver called 911 and drove to University Drive, where SIUE Police helped administer CPR, the paper said. The man was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
ISP District 11 patrol officers responded to the scene of the shooting and found an abandoned car. Witnesses said they saw people get out of the car and run into nearby woods.
Glen Carbon and Madison County officers helped ISP set up a perimeter and ISP Air Operations and canines helped search for the suspects. By 12:40 a.m., three of the suspects had been found and taken into custody. The fourth was taken into custody by Glen Carbon police around 2 a.m. No additional injuries were reported.
SIUE released a statement Friday morning that said in part, “Our SIUE community’s thoughts and prayers are with a fellow student, who was injured in what appears to be a random act of gun violence, last night off-campus. The student was transported to a regional hospital for treatment. The family has been contacted.
"Our thanks to the Illinois State Police, who quickly apprehended four suspects. We greatly appreciate the collegial, collaborative working relationship that the SIUE Police Department has with local and regional law enforcement agencies.”
ISP Crime Scene Services has been called in to assist and the ISP Division of Criminal Investigation - Zone 6 is leading the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 618-301-6182 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS(8477).
The campus said in a later separate incident, alleged gunshots were reported near the AXIS Edwardsville student apartments at around 11:20 p.m. The situation is under investigation.
