CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A Mount Mercy University student is recovering from injuries he received in a shooting near the college’s Cedar Rapids campus Thursday afternoon. Police responded to the scene near the intersection of Elmhurst Drive at Hazel Drive Northeast shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday. Police said the unidentified 21-year-old victim may have been caught in the crossfire of gunfire exchanged between two or more shooters. The victim was taken to a local hospital for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his arm. The university went into lockdown and sent an emergency alert to students and staff. Nearby Regis Middle School and Garfield Elementary School were placed in lockdown as well. The lockdowns were lifted after police gave the all-clear. Home security video in the area captured sound of the shooting with more than a dozen shots fired. Neighbors said several homes and buildings were struck by bullets. Investigators are asking anyone with information or video surveillance footage in the area to call Cedar Rapids police at 319-286-5491. Sources told KCRG-TV9 the victim in the shooting is a member of the Mount Mercy University cross country team. The student was running to practice at the time of the shooting. No arrests have been made in the shooting as police work to locate possible suspects. No other information is being released at this time.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -Less than two months after losing its only commercial airline the Dubuque Regional Airport has announced a new one. Avelo Airlines will start flying out of Dubuque on January 11th. They’ll begin with just one destination Orlando, Florida. In September the airport lost American Airlines. The airport had been in contact with Avelo since March and looks forward to the nonstop flights they’ll provide from Dubuque to the Orlando International Airport.
WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – A Waterloo man previously charged with arson following a fatal fire in the 300 block of E. 2nd Street has now been charged with First Degree Murder. 59-year-old John Spooner was located in the area by police after responding to the incident. Witnesses saw him with a large lighter at that time and video showed him in possession of a gas can immediately preceding the fire and upon smoke coming from the structure, he discards the gas can. The owner of the home, Tony Grider, was found deceased in his bedroom with 2nd-degree burns over his body.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – On Thursday, a student fell from a sixth-floor window in Mayflower Hall, landing on a second-floor roof. A preliminary investigation has indicated that the fall was accidental. Initial reports state that students were playing catch in a residence hall room when a student leaned back and fell through the screen of an open window. The student was transported to a nearby hospital immediately. There is no word on the student’s condition. The incident remains under investigation.
