For The First Time In A Decade, IL Had No Fatal Interstate Shootings In 2025

For the first time in roughly a decade, Illinois had no interstate shooting fatalities in 2025, according to state police, who also noted that interstate shootings dropped last year for the fourth year in a row, down 31 percent year-over-year.

“In the past four years alone, interstate shootings have decreased by 80% and no one lost their life to gun violence on Illinois’ interstates in 2025,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release.

Interstate shootings had a post-coronavirus pandemic spike in 2021, with 310 shootings, 28 of which were fatal, according to police. In 2024, there were 89 interstate shootings, 12 of which were fatal, police said. Last year, there were 61 shootings, according to police.

“When faced with a surge of violence on Illinois interstates, ISP took immediate action, dedicating personnel, technology, Air Operations, K9 units, forensics, and investigative expertise, successfully decreasing the number of shootings,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said in the news release.

Air operations and automated license plate readers were particularly instrumental in identifying and tracking criminals and reducing crashes, according to police. Plate reader cameras have been installed on interstates in counties across Illinois as part of the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act, enacted in 2020.