North Central College cheerleader among nine identified in Bloomington, Ill., Halloween shooting

A mass shooting at a Halloween party in Bloomington, Illinois, has claimed nine victims, including a freshman cheerleader from North Central College. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in a shared backyard behind rental properties in the 100 block of East Division Street. The location sits near the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University and within proximity to Illinois State University.

Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington stated that an officer responding to a nearby call heard ten shots and arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound to the arm. Three additional wounded individuals were located in the backyard. Officers from the Bloomington Police Department and the Illinois State Police administered emergency care, including CPR, tourniquets, and wound treatment, until paramedics arrived.

Giana Dettloff, 19, of Carol Stream, was pronounced dead. McLean County Coroner Dr. Kathleen Yoder reported she sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her chest and pelvic region. Dettloff was a graduate of Glenbard North High School and a student and cheerleader at North Central College in Naperville. She was in Bloomington to visit a friend.

The eight surviving victims ranged in age from 16 to 22. They included high school students, college students, and one non-student. Police initially identified seven survivors but later discovered an eighth victim. Among the survivors were a 19-year-old man from Plano with a forearm wound, an 18-year-old woman from Carol Stream with a leg injury, and a 19-year-old woman from Grant Park with an ankle wound. Other injured individuals included a 19-year-old woman from Hoffman Estates with an ankle wound, a 19-year-old woman from Woodridge with wounds to her arm, chest, and abdomen, a 22-year-old man from Bloomington with arm and abdomen wounds, an 18-year-old woman from Carol Stream with a leg wound, and a 16-year-old girl from Bloomington with an arm wound.

Dr. Yoder stated that none of the victims had prior connections to one another. Simington noted that extra police units were on scene for Halloween visibility and traffic safety. He was patrolling the area before the shooting began. Simington described the gathering as peaceful and jovial, with no disturbances reported prior to the gunfire. He said there was no indication or warning that a shooting would occur.

Detectives investigated throughout Sunday. The McLean County State's Attorney's Office, the Coroner's Office, the Illinois State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI are involved in the case. Counseling services were made available at North Central College and Glenbard North High School. As of midday Monday, no suspect was in custody.

The shooting took place the same night as a separate mass shooting in Bloomington, Indiana, near Indiana University. Police in that jurisdiction reported finding seven people shot near Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street. The victims' ages ranged from 17 to 27. Authorities in Indiana took one person into custody but had not confirmed whether that individual fired the shots.