A Saturday evening shooting near Eddy Street Commons injured a woman and a South Bend police officer, prompting a campus shelter-in-place order and an intensive manhunt for a heavyset suspect described as wearing blue shorts, a black shirt, and one white shoe.
Gunfire broke out just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2026, near the edge of Notre Dame campus. The confrontation sent two people to the hospital and forced law enforcement to lock down businesses and parking garages in the area.
Police Response and Eddy Street Commons Lockdown
The sequence began when Notre Dame police notified South Bend officers that a man had been seen pointing a gun at people. Officers located a person matching that description at the south end of Eddy Street Commons, though he was unarmed during that initial encounter, according to WNDU reporting.
As roughly 20 South Bend police officers worked the scene, a physical fight broke out near Eddy Street and Angela Boulevard, according to WSBT coverage. During the altercation, a single shot was fired.
South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski detailed the heavy-handed security measures deployed to secure the commercial and tailgating district as the situation unfolded.
We’re not going to take any chances. So we cleared parking garages, we cleared all the vestibule areas, and closed the businesses.
Chief Scott Ruszkowski, South Bend Police Department
Chief Scott Ruszkowski further explained the ongoing presence and tactical plan for the district: “At this point in time, then we’re going to keep it that way until we can piece everything together, and then hopefully we’ll get most, if not all, done before the game lets out, and then we’ll still have 20 to 40 officers who will be present.”
Injuries and Hospitalizations in the Crossfire
The single gunshot caused two distinct injuries among bystanders and responding personnel. A woman sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her leg and was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment, WNDU noted.
A South Bend police officer was also injured in the chaos. While initial updates indicated the officer’s non-life-threatening injury may have been caused by a ricochet from the gunfire and noted the officer was treated at the scene, WSBT reported that a ricochet or shrapnel hit the officer in the head and that both the injured woman and the officer were transported to the hospital and are in stable condition. A third person sustained injuries during the physical fight that preceded the gunshot, though those injuries were not caused by gunfire.
Campus Shelter-in-Place and Ongoing Manhunt
In response to the active shooting, university officials issued an emergency shelter-in-place order for Notre Dame campus while local, county, and university police secured the surrounding perimeter. Notre Dame and St. Joseph County police worked alongside South Bend police to secure the area around Eddy Street Commons and Notre Dame’s campus, and the shelter-in-place order was lifted once it was deemed there was no threat to campus.
Investigators are still searching for the gunman, who Notre Dame officials previously said ran from the scene in a westerly direction. Authorities describe the suspect as a heavyset Black male with dreadlocks, wearing blue shorts, a black shirt featuring a red and blue design on the front, and one white shoe.
The South Bend Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit is continuing to investigate. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is encouraged to submit an anonymous tip to Michiana Crime Stoppers by calling 574-288-STOP (7867) or by clicking here.
Читайте также
