{
  "id": "2024-09-04-western-illinois-university-macomb-officers-shot",
  "slug": "western-illinois-university-macomb-officers-shot-2024-09-04",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Western Illinois University",
    "shortName": "WIU",
    "state": "IL",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "WIU Alert",
    "enrollment": 6700
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-04",
    "endDate": "2024-09-05",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Two city police officers shot serving a warrant nearby; residence hall locked down",
    "headlinePublic": "Two city police officers shot serving a warrant nearby; residence hall locked down",
    "summary": "Two Macomb police officers were shot while serving a search warrant in the 300 block of North Normal Street, just blocks from Western Illinois University's campus, on the evening of September 4, 2024. WIU pushed an [active-shooter alert at 7:37 PM CDT](https://www.wgem.com/2024/09/05/wiu-campus-closed-due-standoff-following-police-shooting/) and locked down [Corbin-Olson residence hall](https://www.wvik.org/wvik-top-stories/2024-09-05/two-macomb-police-officers-shot-causing-western-illinois-university-to-close-its-macomb-and-quad-cities-campus) during the standoff. Suspect Shaiking M. Mathis, 38, was eventually taken into custody and charged; both officers were treated and released to recover at home.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "outcome": "Suspect Shaiking M. Mathis, 38, taken into custody and charged with four counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm. WIU's Macomb and Quad Cities campuses were closed September 5.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 2
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-04T19:37:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "An active shooter has been reported the 300 block of North Normal Street near the WIU-Macomb campus. Do not go near the area.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/2-officers-near-western-illinois-university-in-macomb-police-say/526-3288305c-2eea-4d0a-adfa-e13344a80ae0",
      "sourceDescription": "WQAD, WGEM, and WANDTV all directly quoted this WIU Alert text sent at 7:37 PM CDT on September 4, 2024",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text confirmed by WQAD, WGEM, and WANDTV which all reproduced the exact alert wording; sent at 7:37 PM CDT on September 4, 2024",
        "Note the grammatical omission: 'has been reported the 300 block' is missing 'at' or 'in', an authenticity marker preserved here",
        "Corbin-Olson Hall sits less than a quarter mile from the warrant address; the alert directed community members away from the area generally rather than naming the hall specifically"
      ],
      "characterCount": 125
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-04T21:30:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "WIU Emergency Alert: Shelter in place and stay clear of the 300 block of North Normal Street.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wifr.com/2024/09/05/2-police-officers-shot-macomb-emergency-alert-issued-wiu-campus/",
      "sourceDescription": "WIFR (Rockford NBC affiliate) reproduced the verbatim text of the 9:30 PM WIU Emergency Alert",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text from the second WIU Emergency Alert pushed at approximately 9:30 PM CDT, attributed by WIFR's report: 'At 9:30 p.m. CDT on September 4, 2024 students received an alert, WIU Emergency Alert: Shelter in place and stay clear of the 300 block of North Normal Street.'",
        "Two-hour gap between alerts reflects an extended barricade situation rather than a fast-moving threat",
        "Specifying the 300 block of North Normal Street geographically anchors the shelter-in-place to the precise warrant address, about a quarter mile from Corbin-Olson Hall"
      ],
      "characterCount": 93
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Late evening September 4, 2024, after suspect taken into custody",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KWQC and WVIK summaries of the all-clear and campus-closure announcement",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wvik.org/wvik-top-stories/2024-09-05/two-macomb-police-officers-shot-causing-western-illinois-university-to-close-its-macomb-and-quad-cities-campus",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Two Macomb police officers shot causing WIU to close its Macomb and Quad Cities campus",
      "url": "https://www.wvik.org/wvik-top-stories/2024-09-05/two-macomb-police-officers-shot-causing-western-illinois-university-to-close-its-macomb-and-quad-cities-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "WIU campus closed due to standoff following police shooting",
      "url": "https://www.wgem.com/2024/09/05/wiu-campus-closed-due-standoff-following-police-shooting/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police: 1 in custody after emergency near Western Illinois University",
      "url": "https://www.kwqc.com/2024/09/05/police-1-custody-emergency-near-macomb-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UPDATE: WIU campus closed after officers shot in Macomb",
      "url": "https://wmbdradio.com/2024/09/05/update-wiu-campus-closed-after-officers-shot-in-macomb/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "WQAD, WGEM, and WANDTV all directly quoted this WIU Alert text sent at 7:37 PM CDT on September 4, 2024",
      "url": "https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/2-officers-near-western-illinois-university-in-macomb-police-say/526-3288305c-2eea-4d0a-adfa-e13344a80ae0",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "WIFR (Rockford NBC affiliate) reproduced the verbatim text of the 9:30 PM WIU Emergency Alert",
      "url": "https://www.wifr.com/2024/09/05/2-police-officers-shot-macomb-emergency-alert-issued-wiu-campus/",
      "type": "other"
    }
  ],
  "context": "The incident began when [Macomb police officers were shot while serving a search warrant](https://www.wgem.com/2024/09/05/wiu-campus-closed-due-standoff-following-police-shooting/) in the 300 block of North Normal Street, the residential corridor that runs along Western Illinois University's eastern edge. WIU pushed its first active-shooter alert at 7:37 PM CDT on September 4, 2024, identifying [Corbin-Olson residence hall](https://www.wvik.org/wvik-top-stories/2024-09-05/two-macomb-police-officers-shot-causing-western-illinois-university-to-close-its-macomb-and-quad-cities-campus) as locked down because of the proximity. A second alert at 9:30 PM CDT continued the shelter-in-place order during a multi-hour barricade. Suspect [Shaiking M. Mathis was eventually taken into custody and charged](https://www.kwqc.com/2024/09/05/police-1-custody-emergency-near-macomb-campus/) with four counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and aggravated discharge of a firearm. Both wounded officers were discharged from the hospital by 10 AM CDT on Thursday, September 5, 2024, and were expected to make a full recovery. WIU closed both its Macomb and Quad Cities campuses for the day on September 5.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "An off-campus warrant service triggered an on-campus active-shooter alert and a residence-hall lockdown because Corbin-Olson Hall stood within blocks of the standoff.",
    "WIU pushed three sequential alerts spanning roughly five hours (initial, update, all-clear) reflecting a barricade incident rather than a fast-moving active shooter.",
    "The university closed both the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses the next day even though the incident was confined to Macomb."
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": null,
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "Illinois",
    "WIU",
    "Macomb",
    "officer-involved",
    "search-warrant",
    "residence-hall-lockdown",
    "Big-12-region",
    "regional-state-university"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}