Devon Butler, a junior Northern Illinois University linebacker, is listed in critical condition at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford after he was shot off-campus Tuesday night in DeKalb.
Police were called at 11:56 p.m. Tuesday for a report of gunshots in the area of Aspen Court and Hillcrest Drive in DeKalb. Police believe four rounds were fired from a 9 millimeter handgun from a vehicle on the roadway toward Apartment #3, 1009 Aspen Court. Police have confirmed Devon Butler was shot late Tuesday in the incident.
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Google Street view of the neighborhood near 1009 Aspen Drive, near Hillcrest and Aspen in De Kalb, Illinois.
Butler, of Pembroke Pines, Florida., was transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb and airlifted to Level I Trauma Center OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford Wednesday morning.
The City of DeKalb Police Department is investigating the incident, and two Northern Illinois University students, Mark O. Orozco, 24, and Richard F. Van Arsdale III, 20, both of DeKalb, have been charged in the shooting.
Both suspects are in custody and have been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm; both are Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Orozco and Van Arsdale were also charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and unlawful delivery of marijuana, a Class 4 felony punishable by up to three years in prison. Apparently the shooting stemmed from a conflict over a drug deal that occurred last Tuesday. Butler was apparently not aware of the event on Tuesday, nor the incident that was unfolding Tuesday night, until he was shot, or right before he was shot.
There were two other shootings also reported in DeKalb over the weekend. One at 1:49 a.m. Saturday at Third Street and Lincoln Highway in downtown DeKalb; no one was struck. And another at 9 p.m. Sunday in the area of Ridge and Rushmoore drives. No one was struck, but an apartment was apparently struck.
Citizens with information regarding any of the recent reported shootings in the city of DeKalb are urged to call the DeKalb Police Department at 815-748-8400 or DeKalb County Crime Stoppers at 815-895-3272.