PRINCETON \u2014 Police say they are looking for a “person of interest\u201c regarding a double shooting in Princeton on Wednesday that left one person dead.
Davijon Robinson is \u201chiding in Kewanee somewhere,\u201d Princeton police said in a Facebook post.
The shooting occurred at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 200 block of Hillview Drive. One victim later died, while the other was being treated for injuries that police said were not life-threatening.
Law enforcement officers from at least eight area agencies combed the city neighborhoods in Kewanee on Thursday morning looking for the suspect.
\u201cSince I\u2019ve been chief, that’s the biggest group I have even seen come together,\u201d said Kewanee Police Chief Troy Ainley. \u201cOur people came together quickly to coordinate a search of that magnitude.\u201d
Robinson and a juvenile suspect were reported to be headed toward Kewanee in a dark-colored Nissan Altima. Ainley said the car was later found abandoned on the outskirts east of Kewanee. Law enforcement, he confirmed, were looking for two suspects on foot.
Cindy and Ken VanWassenhove had been standing in front of their house on East 10th Street for hours watching the scene while police officers searched a yellow garage in their neighborhood. They weren\u2019t alone, as residents lined the sidewalks to watch the manhunt unfold.
Cindy VanWassenhove said she had seen the news on social media about the Princeton murder, and like many of her neighbors had come outside to witness the activity. Officers dressed in full gear, walking police dogs patrolled the streets, she said.
On 8th Street and North Vine, law enforcement vehicles from Woodhull, the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office, and the Princeton Police Department lined one side of the street. Within minutes, an officer in an unmarked car joined them.
At 7:22 p.m., an Illinois State Police aircraft still circled over Kewanee\u2019s north side while an officer from Bradford Police Department used binoculars to scan the corn field near Northeast Park. On foot, heavily armed officers patrolled the walking path through Northeast Park while another officer walked the rows of a cornfield north of the Case field ball diamond.
Several residents in the area of East 10th Street said they had been outside witnessing the activity since shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday. One resident said it was her brother\u2019s garage that had been searched by police officers, though her brother hadn\u2019t been home all day, she said.
After 8 p.m., multiple law enforcement gathered in a block south of West Sixth and Rice streets. One local media outlet was reporting on social media that the suspect had been apprehended in that area, although after some time, the officers dispersed, with one officer confirming the suspect had not been located in that area.
Overhead, the search plane continued to circle, appearing to expand the search area from Northeast Park towards Baker Park and neighborhoods west of Route 81.
By 9 p.m., Ainley said the leads had run dry and several of the surrounding agencies returned to their own jurisdictions.
Ainley said the KPD are still operating under the idea that the suspects remain in Kewanee and will continue to follow up on all leads. Ainley said the suspects are considered to be armed and dangerous.
Anyone has information regarding the shooting is asked to call Princeton police at (815) 872-2351.<\/p>\n