Illinois student killed, three injured in shooting at off-campus party

One person was killed and three others were injured Sunday in a shooting at an off-campus party near Southern Illinois University in the town of Carbondale, officials said. Keeshanna Jackson, an 18-year-old freshman at the school, has been identified as the victim killed on Sunday.

The Carbondale Police Department said officers responded to calls for shots around 3 a.m. Sunday morning at a residence where a party was being held. Police said officers discovered a victim with a gunshot and attempted to resuscitate her. She later died at a nearby hospital.

Police said the three injured – Jyrin Blair, 29; Rahim Sylas, 23; and an unidentified minor – went to the emergency room at the same hospital where Jackson died. They were treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released.

Police believe several shooters were involved and said the investigation was ongoing.

More than 100 college students held a vigil for the young woman killed in the shooting, CBS affiliate KFVS-TV reported. Her family and friends said she arrived on campus on August 16 and wanted to go to school to learn how to grow her nail business.

“She meant the world, it was like my right arm. She called me all the time, I called her. She called me with her problems, I called her with my problems”, Gakyla Mayo, a friend of Jackson, the station said.

“Now it’s like she’s gone and who else am I going to talk to about this stuff?” “

University Chancellor Austin Lane offered his condolences to Jackson’s family and friends. “As we mourn this loss in our community, we will keep the student’s family and friends in our thoughts,” he said in a statement Monday.