Three people, including two from Chicago’s suburbs and one Illinois football player, were shot this morning at a party near the University of Illinois campus. More details after the jump.
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According to a e-mail press release from the Urbana Police Department, the incident occurred at 3 a.m. this morning at a residence in the 1000 block of South Lincoln Avenue. Police said an individual “fired several rounds from a handgun into a crowded patio area” and that three people were hurt. The shooter then fled the scene.
According to the release, there was a “large party” going on at the time of the shooting, and there was a fight before the shooting.
The victims were a 22-year-old man from southwest suburban Palos Park, a 23-year-old man from south suburban Park Forest and a 27-year-old Savoy man, police said. All were transported to Carle Hospital. The Park Forest resident was treated and released; police did not have the condition of the other two.
According to Lt. Bryan Seraphin of the Urbana Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, one of the victims is a student at the University of Illinois.
According to the university’s athletic department website, one of the victims was Illinois football linebacker Trulon Henry, who was shot in the hand and is undergoing surgery today. Some Illinois football players had been at the party when a fight broke out and a teammate had called Henry, asking him to come to the party and help get players away from the area.
Henry, who played junior college football for the College of DuPage, will miss the rest of the regular season.
Seraphin confirmed that Henry was one of the victims, the 27-year-old from Savoy.
At a press conference today, Illinois coach Ron Zook said a handful of Illinois players — largely underclassmen — were at the party but were not injured. Zook said Henry only came to the party to clear out the other players when the gathering turned chaotic.
Police said they are searching for a man with dreadlocks who was wearing a dark-colored coat and last seen “in or around” a Dodge Charger.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Urbana police at (217) 384-2320 or Crime Stoppers at (217) 373-TIPS.
The residence where the shootings occurred is a private residence with multiple tenants sharing rooms, according to Seraphin.
Ir is just across the street from a University of Illinois student dorm, the Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall. It’s along a strip of Lincoln Avenue that includes two sorority houses and some apartment buildings.
