Nasjay Murry, 18, was shot at about 1:45 a.m. Peoria police responded to a report of shots fired at a residence in the 1800 block of West Bradley Avenue and found three people shot.
[Ads /]
Murry and a man were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood identified the man killed as 22-year-old Anthony Polnitz.
A third victim, a woman, was taken to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury.
Murry was studying Biomedical Science and wanted to be a doctor.
"I thought nothing was going to hold her back," said Murry's cousin, April Hill. "She was going to keep going and surpass all of us and do things that we were not able to do."
Murry graduated from King College Prep High School, where she was a member of the band and National Honor Society.
Murry's family said she had been accepted to several colleges, including Brown University. Hill said Murry didn't have the money to visit all of the schools to which she had been accepted and chose Bradley because it felt like home.
[Ads /]
Hill said Murry's family had hoped she would be safer away from Chicago's South Side.
"That's the thing, I talk to her mother, her biggest concern is about her children," Hill said. "She thinks about, 'oh, Chicago is not safe, and Nasjay is going to college to do great things,' and to have this come and slap us in the face...It's surreal."
King College Prep Assistant Principal Lynda Parker said that Murry is not the first student from their school to be shot and killed.
"It just brings light to the fact that these events do not just happen to people who we believe are unsavory," Parker said. "This is an extraordinary young lady who had the potential to be anything. She was going to be a gynecologist."
Peoria police did not have any information on a suspect Sunday afternoon.
Peoria police did not identify the victims, but a tweet from Bradley University's official account identified Murry as a student and a victim in the shooting.
[Ads /]
David Narain, principal of King College Prep in Chicago, identified Murry as a 2017 alumna of the school.
"I have nothing but fond memories of KCP Class of 2017 alumnus Nasjay Murry. A devastating and tragic loss," Narain said in a tweet.
Bradley University, located about 160 miles southwest of Chicago, will fly their campus flags at half-staff for three days in Murry's honor.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.