One person was injured in a shooting Sunday night at the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University, authorities said. Police were looking for a fleeing suspect, but there was no shelter-in-place order for the campus.
ISU’s first emergency alert about a shots-fired report was issued around 7:55 p.m. Sunday. In an update around 8:04 p.m., ISU said “a person reportedly discharged a firearm on or near campus,” and that “the person may be armed/dangerous.”
At around 8:39 p.m., ISU said they were looking for a suspect described as a “slender black male, 5-foot-10, black afro hair style, wearing all black, last seen running south from University and College streets.” Another message at 8:42 p.m. said the suspect was “last seen running south from Bone Student Center.”
At 9:23 p.m., ISU said the Bone remained closed but there was “no shelter in place for ISU campus.”
What students and others saw
Maya Serrano, a freshman psychology major from Chicago, said she was working as event staff at the Bone on Sunday when the shooting happened. Serrano said it was a large sorority event, apparently attended by families, supporters and some children.
“I was in the back, but I still heard them [the gunshot or shots],” Serrano said.
People began rushing toward the doors. “It was like a flood,” Serrano said. She said she helped event attendees get out of the area. She said she saw one person who hurt their ankle or foot on their way out.
“It was a tough situation to be in,” Serrano said. “There were just a lot of people running.”
Senior English major James Friedman from Shelbyville was in the Prairie Room on the Bone’s second floor when he heard the fire alarm go off.
“We had no idea that it was a shooter at first. So, we took our time getting out,” he said, since they were close to an exit.
Word spread that there was an active shooter and Friedman took shelter for about 90 minutes in the back room of the nearby Bowling and Billiard Centers with about 50 others and the door barricaded.
After the all-clear, Friedman and a friend were trying to get a police escort to access valuables they’d left behind in the Prairie Room.
“I left my laptop,” he said. “My friend here left his keys. Yeah, so we’re just—still a situation for us.”
Timeline and history
At 8:16 p.m., ISU told people to avoid the area around University and Locust streets, just northwest of the Bone Student Center, as well as the Bone itself. Police were still clearing the area at that time, ISU said in another emergency alert. ISU told anyone in the area to take precautions.
“There is the potential of an immediate threat,” the 8:04 p.m. update read.
This is the second incident of gunfire on this block in the past seven months. Two people were shot — one fatally — during a shooting Sept. 29 near University and Locust streets, right near the Bone Student Center. A Chicago man faces murder charges in that case.
This appears to be third shooting incident leading to injury in Normal this year. There were two fatal shootings and five other injuries in 2024.
Police are asking those with information about Sunday’s incident to email [email protected].
This story will be updated.
