Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call of shots fired at 8:45 p.m. last night on the 4700 block of Main Street in Skokie. The victim, 22-year-old Edward James, sustained more than one gunshot wound. He was transported to the Skokie Hospital, where he died 30 minutes later, according to the medical examiner’s office. The victim was a sibling of three current West students.

Assistant Principal of Student Services Antwan Babakani addressed the shooting in an email to faculty members.

“This is a very traumatic moment for the family; but also, it is a traumatic moment for students. We want to be respectful of privacy but we also want to support our students as much as we can,” Babakani wrote.

Any members of the West community needing extra support should contact Student Services.

Some West students, like senior Mason Schmidt, are somewhat desensitized to shootings, but still note the proximity to school as scary.

“It is scary to have something like that happen so close to the school,” Schmidt said.

Main Street was blocked off for the investigation until Tuesday morning. The area of the shooting includes students who feed into Niles West, and some teachers live in the area.

English teacher Sharon Swanson, who witnessed the police presence in the area this morning on her commute, was saddened by the shooting and the prevalence of crime in the area.

“There was an incident in that very same area a couple of years ago where a man murdered his daughter. Sometimes, you read about people getting arrested and shootings. It’s sad. The way terrible gun laws are today, incidents like this unfortunately are inevitable,” Swanson said.

According to onlookers, a black BMW was towed from the scene.

The Skokie Police Department is investigating. Please contact the Skokie Police Department at (847) 982-5900 or the 24-hour Skokie Crime Tip Hotline 847/933-TIPS (8477) with any information regarding the case.