By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL, Ill. (25 News) – Illinois State University Police Chief Aaron Woodruff is supporting the decision of his overnight shift supervisor not to issue emergency alerts following a mass shooting near campus that injured six people early Sunday morning.
Woodruff is responding to criticism from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza who said she has a “personal connection” to an ISU freshman who was one of the victims.
Mendoza said in a Facebook post that she was shocked by the violence that happened about 2:40 a.m. in the 700 block of Franklin Avenue, just south of campus.
“I am also disappointed that apparently ISU did not issue an emergency alert as administrators have done in other shooting incidents near campus,” Mendoza said.
Chief Woodruff told 25 News the supervisor had to make a split-second decision at a time of confusion, when a large crowd of partygoers ran away, and police did not have accurate information about what happened and where.
The chief said it took at least 30 minutes for officers to gather facts, and at that time, there was no immediate threat to campus.
Because the crime happened off campus, the Normal Police Department is leading the investigation. After NPD released information to the public, ISU PD issued a statement that said two of the people injured were ISU students.
Several hours later, university police posted on its Facebook page an explanation why there was not an emergency alert, noting the shooting was an isolated act of violence, and there was no indication a threatening situation was approaching campus.
“We understand incidents near campus can be frightening, and we are reviewing our communication timeline to ensure clarity and safety remain our top priorities,” ISU PD said in the Facebook post.
Before Sunday, the most recent off-campus shooting did prompt a series of alerts after a 16-year-old girl was wounded February 14 at The Flats of ISU in the 700 block of South Main Street.
“Every situation is different,” said Chief Woodruff. Each incident, he said, decided on a “case-by-case” basis.
Meantime, the six victims – two boys, two men, and two women – are all expected to recover.
Normal Police have not said whether they have any suspects.
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