Police investigating house party shooting that killed 18-year-old Southern Illinois University student
Police in Illinois are investigating a house party shooting that killed an 18-year-old college student and injured three others.
Southern Illinois University student Keeshanna Jackson died Sunday after she was shot at a party on West Cherry Street in Carbondale, police said.
Police responded to the home around 3:12 a.m. Sunday after shots were fired. The party was attended by both students and non-students, according to a press release by the Carbondale Police Department.
Multiple shooters were likely involved, police said. The motive is unclear.
Officers attempted to resuscitate Jackson on the scene but she later died at the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
Grief counseling is being made available for students in response to Jackson's death, Southern Illinois University Chancellor Austin Lane announced in a statement.
"We are heartbroken to lose a member of the Saluki family and extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends," Lane said.
Two of the injured victims were identified as 29-year-old Marion resident Jyrin Blair and 23-year-old Murphysboro resident Raheem Sylas. A fourth shooting victim, a minor, was not identified.
They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and are not affiliated with the university, police said.
Students, family and friends gathered on campus Sunday to release balloons and hold a candlelight vigil in Jackson's honor.
Father Joseph Brown, a professor of Africana studies at the university, told ABC Carterville, Illinois, affiliate WSIL that while he was impressed by how students came out to support each other, Jackson's death is "something that nobody should ever have to deal with."
"To have to come and grieve for a child again, this takes me down, but these young people assembling here bring me back up," Brown said.
Another memorial service for Jackson will be held on Wednesday in the student center, according to the university.
Investigators are asking for tips from anyone who attended the party or with knowledge of the incident.
