The university sent out a campus-wide alert after shots were fired at Clark Street Beach, just south of the Evanston campus.
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Northwestern officials said the suspects ran north toward the campus on Sheridan Road. Sheridan was closed from Davis to Clark while police investigated.
Evanston police said three people were shot, one of them fatally, at the beach. Police said the victims are not Northwestern University students.
A man believed to be 18 or 19 years old was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other victims, both 15 years old, were wounded. Police said one teen is in critical condition, while the other suffered minor injuries.
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No one is currently in custody. Police said the shooting was not a random act.
People who were at the beach said they heard a flurry of gunfire.
The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are not yet clear, though police said it appears to be unrelated to anything involving the university.