Illinois University Shooting Live Updates: Multiple Shots Fired, Shooter At Large

UPDATE: 8:20 a.m. EDT — Police said Sunday morning that one person died and three others were injured in a shooting incident on Green St. in Champaign. A fifth person who was running when shots were fired was hit by a car and received minor injuries.

Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup has identified the dead man as George Korchev of Mundelein, Illinois.

According to preliminary investigations, the incident began after an argument took place during an apartment party in the area. The argument later shifted outside where a fight broke out and shots were fired. Police said the victims in the incident were not involved in the fight.

Later, police received another report of gunfire in the 700 Block of S. State St. in Champaign where a person had a non-critical gunshot wound. Preliminary investigations suggested the two shooting incidents may be related.

UPDATE: 7:50 a.m. EDT — An update issued by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign declared the emergency, prompted by reports of shooting at the Green Street area, over. Police are investigating the incident that took place late Saturday.

“Police are currently processing the scene, reviewing video surveillance and interviewing potential witnesses. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is urged to contact the Champaign Police Department at 217-351-4545,” the alert said.

Earlier, the university said that the suspect had left the district area. However, it is still unclear as to who fired the shots. Police said early Sunday they are investigating two overnight shooting incidents that included a total of five victims. However, the condition or the identities of the victims remain unknown.

UPDATE: 5:43 a.m. EDT — Champaign police said early Sunday that the shooting was isolated to Green Street area and no other shots were fired anywhere else in the campus district.

UPDATE: 5:10 a.m. EDT — An alert issued by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said the suspect involved in the shooting was out of the campus district and that police are investigating the incident.

UPDATE: 4:45 a.m. EDT — While there are still no details from the police on the shooting near the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus late Saturday night, a local media outlet and some reddit users reported that the incident may be gang-related.

UPDATE: 4:20 a.m. EDT — According to RT News, Sgt. Rickey W. Bell of the University of Illinois Police Department did not confirm or deny the reports of the shootings, but said that the area will closed until at least 6 a.m. local time.

No injuries or casualties have been confirmed so far.

A video was shared on Twitter showing Kathryn Lawlor, who witnessed the shots being fired on Green Street in Champaign.

Original story:

Multiple shots were fired at the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign late Saturday. The university issued an emergency alert on its website, saying the shooter had left the area.

The emergency alert urged people to "avoid Green street from 2nd to 4th and 2nd street from Green to Healey." Police who responded to the scene of the shooting reportedly said the shots were fired in an alleyway.

The shooting reportedly took place about one block away from “The Red Lion,” a popular campus bar.

Some unconfirmed reports claimed that two people were dead in the incident, while other reports stated that at least nine people were shot. However, there is no official confirmation so far.

Below are some tweets from social media users reporting about the incident. One of the users, apparently a student at the university, said she got the update about two people being dead from a friend who was monitoring the situation through police radio.

According to reports, police and emergency services have been dispatched to the area of shooting at the university campus. Several students expressed their anger over the lack of information from the police and the university about the shooting.

The shooting comes just a day after a mass shooting was carried out at a mall in Burlington, Washington killing five people Friday. The suspect in the case – identified as Arcan Cetin – has been taken into custody and police are working to find the motive.

This is a developing story.