Five people, including University of Iowa students, were wounded in an overnight shooting near the campus. Police said they are seeking several persons of interest in the investigation.
Shortly before 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, Iowa City police were called to the East College Street area next to the university after reports of a large fight. According to WHO, a Nexstar affiliate, officers arriving at the scene heard gunfire.
By 10:00 a.m. Sunday, Iowa City Public Safety confirmed that five injured people had been identified. One victim is in critical condition, while the others are stable.
“I write to you with a heavy heart,” University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a message to the university community published Sunday. She confirmed that three of the wounded are students at the university. No further details about the victims have yet been released.
University police, for their part, said that at this stage there is “no indication that students were specifically targeted.”
“This is a difficult moment for our community. We will get through it together—caring for one another and holding fast to what it means to be part of this community,” Wilson added.
Immediately after the shooting, the university issued a safety alert and advised students to avoid the area. That guidance remains in effect while the investigation continues.
“There is no information indicating an ongoing threat related to this incident, and we have no additional information at this time,” Iowa City Public Safety said. Authorities stressed that no arrests have yet been made.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, in a Sunday post on X, called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” that “has shaken the university community and our entire state.”
Investigators are now working to identify several people captured on surveillance footage who may be connected to the incident.