CHAMPAIGN – University of Illinois police are asking for assistance in finding the people who fired shots early Sunday in Champaign’s Campustown neighborhood, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries to a U of I student.
According to UIPD, there were multiple calls to 911 around 4:20 a.m. on Sunday for shots fired outside of a house party in the 600 block of South Third Street in Champaign.
A police statement says two men tried to shoot each other after an altercation.
The U of I student who was injured was an uninvolved bystander.
Witnesses described one suspect as a Latino man with short brown hair, a beard, neck tattoos and a brown trench coat. The other suspect is a Hispanic man with braided hair and a blue shirt.
The university issued Illini-Alerts at 4:27 a.m. and urged people to avoid the area. An all-clear was issued at 5:32 a.m.
Anyone with general information is encouraged to contact University Police at 217-333-1216. Witnesses may remain anonymous by calling Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477 (373-TIPS).
Campustown is in a part of Champaign where there are many private apartments, bars, restaurants and other businesses catering to University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana students.
In October 2022, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign police took over patrolling the area from Champaign police, which were understaffed at the time.
Other Campustown Shooting Incidents
This is the latest in violent incidents in the area.
On October 9, shots were fired in the area of Second and Green Streets in Campustown. No was injured. Police arrested Dominic W. Parrish, 22, of Urbana in connection with the case. UIPD says he was the shooter. The charges are reckless discharge of a firearm and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On July 6, police said several people were shot by pellets from an air-powered gun. No one was seriously injured. Two people were arrested and an 18-year-old was issued a no-trespassing notice for all U. of I. property in connection with the incidents.
On May 7, two U of I students were attacked in the 300 block of East Green Street. Officers said a woman was pushed to the ground and a man trying to protect her was punched and kicked. A man who displayed a handgun in his waistband, as well as a juvenile were arrested. The male student suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
On March 24, two U of I students suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a stabbing. It happened in the 100 block of East Green Street. One had a superficial stab wound, and the other had multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. The students told police they were in a verbal argument prior to the incident. No suspects could be located.
In July 2022, Joshua Berg of Urbana was fatally shot near Second and Green Street in Campustown.