A shooting near the entrance of Clark Street Beach in Evanston, Illinois, left one teenager dead and two others injured on Wednesday night. The incident prompted a lockdown at Northwestern University’s Evanston campus for over an hour, as the suspects remained at large.
The tragic event unfolded at Centennial Park, located in the 1800 block of Sheridan Road. According to Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew, two 15-year-old boys were wounded, with one in critical condition, while an 18-year-old lost his life in the shooting.
Witnesses described hearing around ten gunshots and initially mistaking them for fireworks. People started running, and some alerted the police to a body at the scene. Officers arrived and administered CPR before the victim was taken away.
Another witness reported hearing shots and seeing people running, followed by a swift police response.
Police cordoned off all beach entrances and began investigating the scene, marking locations of shell casings. Northwestern University tweeted that the suspects fled north toward the campus in a sedan, seen traveling along Sheridan Road.
At 8:45 p.m., university officials issued an alert advising everyone on campus to shelter in place. The lockdown was lifted shortly before 10 p.m. when police determined the suspects were no longer in the immediate area, and there appeared to be no continued threat.
Commander Glew stated that although the suspects remained at large, the investigation had not revealed any indication that the shooting was a random act or that the public faced an ongoing threat. However, he advised caution following such incidents.
Evanston police confirmed that the shooting did not involve the Northwestern community, and the victims were not university students. As of late Wednesday, the motive for the shooting remained unknown.