Bloomington Shooting: Nine Identified as Victims in Halloween Party Attack

Police in Bloomington, Illinois, have identified nine victims from a mass shooting that occurred in the early hours of Sunday, October 25.

Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington confirmed that officers were dispatched to a common backyard behind rental buildings in the 100 block of East Division Street at 1:21 a.m. The location sits near the campuses of Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University. An officer responding to a nearby incident heard ten gunshots and arrived to find a man with a wound to his arm. Three additional injured individuals were located in the yard shortly after.

The incident took place on Halloween night, a time when Simington noted that extra police units were already deployed for visibility and traffic safety. Simington was patrolling the area before the gunfire began. He stated that the gathering appeared peaceful and jovial, with no prior disturbances reported. He added that there was no indication or warning that a shooting would occur.

Among the dead is Giana Dettloff, a 19-year-old from Carol Stream. McLean County Coroner Dr. Kathleen Yoder determined that Dettloff died from multiple gunshot wounds to her chest and pelvic region. Dettloff was a freshman and cheerleader at North Central College in Naperville and a graduate of Glenbard North High School. She was in Bloomington to visit a friend at a local university. Her parents described her to Simington as their only daughter, a full-of-life athlete with a bright future.

The eight surviving victims ranged in age from 16 to 22. Police initially reported seven survivors but later discovered an eighth. The injured include a 19-year-old man from Plano, Illinois, who was stabilized after a wound to his right forearm. An 18-year-old woman from Carol Stream suffered a leg injury and was upgraded from critical to stabilized condition. A 19-year-old woman from Grant Park, who attends Illinois State University, was stabilized after a gunshot wound to her ankle. Another 19-year-old woman from Hoffman Estates was treated and released the morning of the shooting after suffering an ankle wound.

A 19-year-old woman from Woodridge, Illinois, who attends Quincy University, was shot in her arm, chest, and abdomen. Her condition improved from critical to stabilized. A 22-year-old man from Bloomington sustained wounds to his arm and abdomen and was stabilized. An 18-year-old woman from Carol Stream who attends Glenbard North High School was shot in the leg and stabilized. The youngest victim, a 16-year-old girl who attends Bloomington High School, suffered a gunshot wound to her arm and was treated and released. Dr. Yoder stated that the victims had no prior connections to one another.

Emergency responders from the Bloomington Police Department and Illinois State Police provided immediate care, including CPR and tourniquets, until paramedics arrived. Detectives worked throughout Sunday to investigate the scene. The McLean County State's Attorney's Office, the Coroner's Office, Illinois State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI are all involved in the case. As of midday Monday, no one was in custody.

Counseling and support services were provided at both North Central College and Glenbard North High School. Friends and teammates at North Central carried flowers across the campus on Monday. The college's cheerleading team posted on social media that Dettloff was an amazing friend, teammate, and a pure soul. A separate mass shooting occurred the same night in Bloomington, Indiana, near Indiana University, where seven people were shot and one person was taken into custody.

The Bloomington, Illinois, shooting remains under active investigation with multiple agencies collaborating on the case.