HOLLAND, Mich. — One man is dead and another is in critical condition after a shooting near Hope College Wednesday night.
A lockdown was lifted at Hope College around 1 a.m. Thursday following the deadly shooting.
Thursday afternoon, the Holland Department of Public Safety announced the suspect was identified and arrested in connection with the shooting.
Police say he is a 19-year-old from Holland who knew the victims.
The man now faces several charges, including open murder, assault with intent to commit murder and felony firearm.
We will bring you his name once he is arraigned, although it's not clear yet when that will happen.
The shooting happened around 10:20 p.m. near 16th Street and College Avenue.
“I heard a quick, like, five to eight shots; I didn’t immediately know it was gunfire,” said Caleb Krieg, who lives just a few hundred feet from the crime scene.
For those living in the area, the idea that someone would be gunned down in front of their homes was simply unimaginable.
Another neighbor, Brookie, told FOX 17, “For a second I thought it was fireworks, but my boyfriend, he’s like, 'No, that was a gunshot.'”
In fact, many of the people living in the area thought the same thing.
"I was literally falling asleep and I heard it, and I was sleeping next to my youngest and he heard it too," Jordan Kwiatkowski, who lives just down the street, said Thursday.
"I was just like, 'It's just leftover fireworks; it's fine; it's okay.'"
As a crowd gathered around the injured young men, neighbors quickly realized what they had actually heard.
“There were two bikes in the road, and then one guy was in the road laying down, and then the other guy was on the sidewalk,” Brookie said.
"They were doing chest compressions."
Holland police say the victims had been riding their bicycles when the suspect started firing at them. One of the victims, a 19-year-old Holland man, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The second victim, an 18-year-old man from Holland, was taken to the hospital and is listed in critical condition.
HOPE ALERT: Holland PD has cleared our lockdown with caution. Lockdown has been lifted, but please be careful and vigilant if you choose to leave your area.
— Hope College (@HopeCollege) June 2, 2022
Hope College had originally tweeted a “HOPE ALERT” just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday saying that an off-campus shooting happened near 16th Street and College Avenue.
The alert said the suspect was not in custody yet and the campus was on lockdown.
According to Holland police, witnesses described the suspect as a Black man, around 20 years old with a thin build.
Campus is still in lockdown. Please remain vigilant until an all-clear is given.
— Hope College (@HopeCollege) June 2, 2022
On its official Facebook page, the college gave students specific lockdown instructions, including locking doors, turning off lights and silencing cellphones.
Ottawa County Central Dispatch confirmed to FOX 17 that police did set up a perimeter, and a K-9 unit was brought in to help look for the suspect.
Anyone who has information that may help in this investigation is asked to contact the Holland Department of Public Safety at (616) 355-1150 or email investigators at policetips@cityofholland.com. Persons wishing to remain anonymous may contact Silent Observer by calling 1-877-887-4536, texting OCMTIP and your message to 274637 or you may go online and submit a tip using the online form at www.mosotips.com.
