Jeremy Fears Shot In Joliet, 19-Year-Old Girl Also Shot

JOLIET, IL — With violence out of control in Joliet and Crest Hill over the past week, the latest shooting injured Jeremy Fears, one of the greatest basketball stars to play for Joliet West, and a 19-year-old girl was also shot at the same house as Fears, according to authorities.

Fears is now a freshman for the Michigan State men's basketball team after graduating in May with the Class of 2023 from Joliet West.

Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English issued a press release that did not name the shooting victims. The Joliet police usually don't do that unless the crime is a homicide. However, WJOL news radio station and Scott Slocum broke the news revealing that Fears was one of the two shooting victims in Marycrest this morning.

The Detroit Free Press interviewed Michigan State University men's basketball coach Tom Izzo on Saturday, and he told the Detroit newspaper that,“Jeremy underwent surgery this morning and is resting comfortably. While there is much we still don’t know, my focus is supporting Jeremy on his road to recovery."

Through the first 12 games for the 7-5 Michigan State Spartans, Fears has been averaging 15 minutes of playing team, averaging 3.5 points per game and 1.9 rebounds per game.

According to Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English, the shooter got away and remains at large.

English said the following events happened right around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday:

• Officers responded to a house in the 300 block of St. Jude Avenue for two people who were shot inside. The officers located a 19-year-old girl who had sustained a gunshot wound to the pelvis and an 18-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the left thigh.
• Joliet police determined that both victims were inside the residence with others, at which time it is believed that a male suspect armed with a handgun entered the house through the front door and began firing inside, striking both victims.
• The gunman then ran from off. Both shooting victims were transported to Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center by the Joliet Fire Department in stable condition.
• Both gunshot injuries are considered to be non-life threatening.
• Officers conducted an extensive canvass of the area, but were unable to locate the shooter.
• At this time, the motive and intended target of the shooting are unknown and still under investigation.

If anyone has information or video footage related to this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Joliet Police Department Investigations Division at 815-724-3020. They can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734 or online at https://crimestoppersofwillcou... if they wish to remain anonymous.

The incident is the latest shooting in Joliet, where 49-year-old Bernadette Quasie was found shot to death at a home on Langsford Lane earlier this week. Her 21-year-old son is charged in her killing after police say he called 911 to turn himself in.

Last week, 40-year-old Alicia Cole was also shot to death in her West Side home. Police say a man who had a relationship with Coles is charged in her murder, after she called 911 to report him breaking into her home.

As for Fears, in March, Joliet Patch reported that in its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Jeremy Fears, Jr. of Joliet West High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Illinois Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Fears is the first Gatorade Illinois Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Joliet West High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Fears as Illinois’ best high school boys basketball player.

The 6-foot-2, 182-pound senior guard averaged 18.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this past season, leading the Tigers (28-6) to the Class 4A sectional final. He also contributed 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He was ranked as the nation’s No. 20 recruit in the Class of 2023 by ESPN.com.