ISU Police seek to ease safety worries after latest gun crime

Crime Scene
A second report this month of shots fired near the ISU campus prompts university police to put out an advisory to calm safety concerns.   (WJBC File Photo)

By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Illinois State University Police have issued a crime advisory intended to calm students’ safety concerns after another report of gunshots near campus.

Normal Police said they have arrested a man that a witness said fired shots into the air in the 400 block of W. Vernon Ave. in Normal about 4:15 Wednesday morning.

Officers recovered a handgun and shell casing, and say Walter Hill, 25, of Normal fired the weapon after arguing with his girlfriend.

Police booked Hill for aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, and criminal damage to property.

In the crime advisory, ISU Police noted that no students were involved in the shooting, and there were no injuries.

Police continue to investigate a report of several shots fired near E. Vernon Ave. and S. Linden St. in Normal on October 3.

In that case, police have yet to make an arrest after authorities found several bullet holes in a residence in the 600 block of S. Linden, and a number of shell casings outside.

A man, who told officers he was walking in the area, was treated and released from a local hospital for a gunshot wound to the neck.

A university advisory issued at the time said there was no ISU connection to that crime.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…