An otherwise calm and quiet Saturday afternoon in West Urbana was interrupted by a sound that has become more familiar in the past year. Around 2:38pm, a drive-by shooting on the 400 block of West Illinois Street sent four distinctive gunshots ringing through the neighborhood.
A car heading north on South Birch Street squealed its tires as it turned west and sped down Illinois Street. In addition to the driver, the car appeared to have three passengers, all of whom wielded handguns. The shooters appeared to be targeting 408 W Illinois Street, but the motive is unknown.
The perpetrators pointed their guns out of the car windows and fired three shots at the home on approach. Then the car slowed slightly before the fourth shot was fired back at the home. The individual seated behind the driver made that shot with his entire torso out of the window while pointing his gun across the roof of the car and taking careful aim.
The vehicle was a 2011 or earlier black Chevrolet Impala with a distinctive front right hub cap which appears to be missing a section. The shooters left at high speed and turned south on South Orchard Street and then west on Oregon.
The location of the shooting is just a few blocks from the University of Illinois, and West Illinois Street is heavily trafficked by students and other residents. Several neighbors were walking or cycling within a block of the shooting when it occurred. One man pushing a stroller with a small child was walking on the sidewalk on the south side of Illinois Street and was immediately adjacent to the vehicle when the shooting started. Another neighbor on the same block witnessed the entire event from her porch.
Urbana Police were on scene about three minutes after the shooting. They interviewed witnesses and located two shell casings in the street.
Witnesses say as many as eight individuals fled from the targeted home before police arrived.
There appear to have been no injuries and it is not yet clear to what extent any property may have been damaged.
Correction: the original article mistakenly noted the time of the shooting as 1:38pm but the correct time is 2:38pm.
Not questioning the truth of your story but you don’t cite the source for this information:
“A car heading north on South Birch Street squealed its tires as it turned west and sped down Illinois Street. In addition to the driver, the car appeared to have three passengers, all of whom wielded handguns. The shooters appeared to be targeting 408 W Illinois Street, but the motive is unknown.
The perpetrators pointed their guns out of the car windows and fired three shots at the home on approach. Then the car slowed slightly before the fourth shot was fired back at the home. The individual seated behind the driver made that shot with his entire torso out of the window while pointing his gun across the roof of the car and taking careful aim.
The vehicle was a 2011 or earlier black Chevrolet Impala with a distinctive front right hub cap which appears to be missing a section. The shooters left at high speed and turned south on South Orchard Street and then west on Oregon.”
I assume you have turned this information all in to the police.
Council Member Evans, we appreciate your interest in this incident. Check CU is confident in the accuracy of the article as published. Due to the violent nature of the incident, we do not wish to publicly identify witnesses/sources as you have suggested.
Peculiar also is: “Witnesses say as many as eight individuals fled from the targeted home before police arrived.”
There’s been no one at the house since the shootings.
Council Member Evans, your statement conflicts with multiple sources and is factually incorrect. The home was occupied at the time of the shooting. A number of individuals left the home immediately after the shooting before police arrived, and the home may or may not have been occupied when the police were present. However, the home was affirmatively occupied 90 minutes after the shooting, that night, this morning, and this afternoon before you posted your comment here.
Council Member Evans,
This is a SERIOUS crime, which occurred in *your* ward, under *your* watch – apparently just a few houses down from where you live.
So I don’t understand why you are choosing to be combative toward the only local news outlet that has covered the incident so far, and further, to argue with eyewitness accounts, rather than address this crime responsibly.
This is *not* what your constituents expect from you. What they need here is reassurance, and a formal statement, from the Police Department and the City, for which you can (and should) be the liaison.
Thank you.
Sarah Nixon
I sincerely believe that Mr. Evans is, more than the average person, extremely interested in finding the correct people and the real causes for this incident. I think that he is not interested in supporting the systems that quickly find someone to force into a fake confession.
Wasn’t being combative. I was noting that a very specific narrative about the shooting wasn’t sourced. Doesn’t mean Chris’ story is not true and Chris explained why he didn’t want to identify where he got his information. That’s fine. I quoted further Chris’ article that said, “Witnesses say as many as eight individuals fled from the targeted home before police arrived.” I noticed an hour after the shooting that no one seemed to be at the house. Chris is probably right that the house was occupied during the shooting. I wasn’t questioning that. My point of bringing up the flight from the house by the occupants was that once again, victims aren’t talking to police. I have noticed that a moving truck was at the house today, there were people putting boxes in the truck, and there was a car parked in the driveway at the house later today. Repeated calls to the owner of the house have gone unanswered. I will be inquiring from the police how Ward 2 residents can get updates on serious investigations, this one and the homicide at the liquor store B Spirits a while back. As for formal statements, I’ve watched that routine for over twenty years, and noticed they do absolutely nothing. Chris Hansen putting together a report is far more effective.
Amen to “Chris Hansen putting together a report is far more effective” [than the police.]
Thank you for elaborating. Your points are well taken; and I apologize. The issue of street gun violence is “triggering” (no pun intended) for the collective, and my comment issued more from a perspective of frustration than of logic.