Wednesday evening in Evanston turned frightening and chaotic for residents and students at Northwestern University after a fatal shooting at nearby Clark Street Beach took the life of an 18-year-old man and led to an hour-long shelter-in-place on campus.
At least three people were shot in the incident, according to officials. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, the man killed has been identified as Jacquis Irby, 18, of Skokie.
A second victim, 15, was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. A third victim, also 15, suffered a minor gunshot wound, police say.
In an update Wednesday night, Evanston Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew said officers around 8:30 p.m. responded a call of shots fired at Clark Street Beach, in the 1800 block of Sheridan Drive just south of Northwestern University’s campus.
"Upon arrival, we discovered what appeared to be three gunshot victims," Glew said.
According to Glew, an initial investigation suggests that shortly after the shooting, two suspects fled on foot and then into a car.
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Just before 9 p.m., Northwestern University officials issued a shelter-in-place order, as the suspects were last seen driving north on Sheridan Road, towards the campus.
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Approximately an hour later, the emergency order had been lifted.
"The area has been secured," Glew said Wednesday night. "And the initial investigation reveals or indicates it's not a random act. So although we always advise caution, and report anything suspicious, we don't have any information right now that leads us to believe that there still continues to be imminent danger in the community that there are perpetrators."
'I Thought It Was Fireworks"
Witnesses on the beach at the time of the shooting say the events took them by surprise, adding that a casual Wednesday evening quickly turned chaotic.
"We were we were just chilling on the beach," one witness said. "And we just heard gunshots go off. And screaming went down. And then we just ran to the other side. We heard a little noise there and then just screaming all over. It just became chaos."
"I thought it was fireworks," the witness continued. "It didn't sound like gunshots until people started running, screaming and then I was like, okay, yeah, it's gunshots. But yeah, we didn't really know what happened. We just chilled with a lot of students there."
Evanston Police Wednesday evening said the incident "does not appear to be a random act," and that the victims the are not affiliated with Northwestern University.
According to officials, Sheridan Road remains open but "portions of the park and path around Clark Street Beach remained closed to the public."
Officials have not released descriptions of the suspects or the vehicles. No one was in custody.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
