Jacksonville police called to shooting at East College

Jacksonville police continue to investigate a report of shots fired in the 700 block of East College Avenue Monday evening.

Police were called to the area at 9:16 p.m. Monday for what was the fourth shooting in June and the eighth this year. No injuries were reported in the latest incident.

A witness who heard the gunshots told police he saw three vehicles in the area immediately before the shooting – a red car, a blue car and a black Ford, a police report said.

A Jacksonville police shift supervisor could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Prior to this latest incident, police were investigating a report of multiple shots fired in the 700 block of South Fayette Street on June 14 at around 5:25 p.m. Witnesses told police that multiple people and vehicles were involved. No one was injured and there were no immediate reports of property damage, according to officials.

Jacksonville police Lt. Sean Walker told the Journal-Courier at the time that gunshot investigations can be a game of patience. Although officers canvass the neighborhood, “we often have to wait for people to come forward, and occasionally that does happen. We take these incidents seriously. If anything new comes up, we will investigate.”

According to a Jacksonville police report, six shots were fired outside a residence in the 400 block of South Mauvaisterre Street at around 7:57 p.m. on June 5. No injuries or damage were reported.

This occurred on the same block of South Mauvaisterre Street as a report of gunfire that came in several days earlier, on June 2 at approximately 4:54 a.m. One person was injured in that incident. While police were investigating, one person was taken to the emergency room at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound.

The person did not cooperate with officers and did not want to identify the shooter, police said.

According to a Journal-Courier database, there have been 28 reports of gunfire in the city since July 23, 2021.

Anyone with information on either case can call Jacksonville police at 217-479-4630. Anonymous tips can be submitted online to Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties at morganscottcrimestoppers.com, by phone at 217-243-7300 or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) with “payout” as the first word of the text.