Shooting in Savoy leaves one youth injured, another in police custody

Sam Lisec, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Mar. 19—SAVOY — A shooting late Monday near an elementary school in Savoy has left an 18-year-old hospitalized in stable condition and a 17-year-old in police custody on weapons charges.

The Champaign County Sheriff's Office said it responded to a report of shots fired about 11:20 p.m. Monday in the area of Prairie Fields Park in Savoy, just south of Carrie Busey Elementary School.

A deputy was nearby at the time of the call and located no vehicles or pedestrians in the area when he arrived.

Deputies searched for evidence of a shooting and located bullet casings in the intersection of Gentian Street and Prairie Rose Lane. They also discovered a vehicle parked near the intersection that had been damaged by gunfire.

The sheriff's office and Urbana Police Department were then notified around 11:33 p.m. that a shooting victim had arrived by car at Carle Foundation Hospital.

The victim, an 18-year-old from Savoy, sustained a single gunshot wound to the upper torso and is in stable condition, authorities said.

Deputies also observed a defect in the vehicle the victim arrived in that was consistent with being caused by gunfire.

While at Carle, officers and deputies learned that another person had gotten out of the vehicle that dropped off the injured 18-year-old and walked away to the east on University Avenue.

An officer located someone matching that person's description, a 17-year-old from Savoy, in the 500 block of West University Avenue in Urbana. A search turned up a weapon, and he was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center, where he was charged with unlawful use of a firearm and defacing identifying marks on a firearm.

Sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the incident and believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Champaign County Sheriff's Office's Investigations Division at 217-384-1213 or, if wishing to remain anonymous, Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477, 373tips.com or the free "P3 Tips" mobile app.