Student accused of shooting roommate inside Western Illinois University dorm surrenders
Macomb IL Sept 19 2020
An 18-year-old accused of shooting his roommate inside a dormitory at Western Illinois University surrendered at a Chicago police station Wednesday afternoon.
Kavion Poplous, a freshman from Chicago, arrived at the Gresham District station about 1:35 p.m. and was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the university and Chicago police.
Poplous is accused in a Tuesday night shooting in Macomb after a “roommate dispute,” university officials said.
He is charged in McDonough County with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to the university and county records.
Western Illinois University’s main campus is in Macomb in western Illinois, about 80 miles south of Davenport, Iowa.
The 18-year-old shooting victim is “out of surgery, and we’re waiting on updates from his family on what his status is right now. So his condition is unknown,” Derek Watts, head of campus safety said at a news conference Wednesday morning. The young man was initially taken to McDonough District Hospital before being transferred to another area hospital.
The shooting happened in Thompson Hall late Tuesday, the university said. All classes Wednesday were canceled, but were expected to resume Thursday.
The university’s public safety office was notified about 10:38 p.m. that a student had been shot, about the same time someone pulled a fire alarm in the dorm.
On his LinkedIn page, Poplous writes that he is from Englewood, has worked at Starbucks part-time and graduated from Wendell Phillips Academy High School, 244 E Pershing Rd. He is at Western to study business, marketing and management.
“I’m very down to earth and try my hardest to be understanding,” he writes on his page, adding that he hoped to show other young people that “rapping and playing ball is not the only way to make it out the hood. … STAY BLESSED!!!”
It’s unclear when Poplous will be extradited to McDonough County to face the charges, according to university spokeswoman Darcie Shinberger.
Shinberger said it’s the first on-campus shooting she could recall in her 28 years working at the university.
