BLOOMINGTON – An 18-year-old has been arrested and jailed in connection with a shooting incident that occurred near a playground in Bloomington’s Crestmont neighborhood.
The incident occurred on Saturday, March 29, at approximately 7:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of West Illinois Court. According to the Bloomington Police Department, multiple shots were fired after a verbal confrontation escalated into a physical altercation. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Police reports indicate that witnesses told officers a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and face mask approached a group of people while carrying a handgun and “began exchanging threats with individuals in the group.”
“The verbal altercation then escalated into a physical fight between the suspect and individuals from the group near two parked cars,” the police report stated. It was reported that the suspect briefly handed the gun to someone else before the fight broke out and then retrieved it and pointed it at several people.
People began to run from the suspect as he reportedly fired multiple rounds at two individuals before fleeing the area. Police say surveillance camera footage from the vicinity corroborated the accounts provided by witnesses.
Gregory Cordell Baker Jr. was later arrested at a residence in the 1200 block of West 13th Street. He faces preliminary charges of intimidation, criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm at a person, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct.
Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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