Investigation into shooting of Joliet’s Jeremy Fears Jr. remains ‘priority’ for police

The Dec. 23 shooting of a 19-year-old woman and former Joliet West High School basketball player Jeremy Fears Jr. remained under investigation as of Wednesday.

Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English said the shooting “remains a priority for our detectives as they continue to investigate a motive.”

“No one has been arrested for the shooting at this point,” English said.

Fears’ mother declined to speak to the Herald-News about her son.

Officers responded to the double shooting at 3:44 a.m. Dec. 23 in the 300 block of St. Jude Avenue. That location is south of Jefferson Street and west of Larkin Avenue in a residential area that is not too far from St. Jude Catholic School.

A 19-year-old woman and another person whom police only would identify as an 18-year-old man were inside a residence with other people when an armed male suspect entered through the front door, according to a statement from English.

The suspect fired a gun inside the residence, striking the two victims, and then fled the scene, English said.

The 19-year-old woman was shot in the pelvis, and the 18-year-old had a gunshot wound to the left thigh. They were hospitalized in stable condition, English said.

The gunshot wounds of both victims were not considered life-threatening, English said.

Officers managed to conduct an “extensive canvass” of the area, but they were not able to find the suspect, English said.

After being a national standout at Joliet West, Fears Jr. is now a freshmen playing for Michigan State University. His father on his Twitter account posted videos of him recuperating from his surgery.