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Facebook Live Video Cues Normal Police To Apparent Fight

Police and Fire
WGLT file photo

Police in Normal said Sunday that a social media user alerted them to an early morning Facebook Live video broadcast of an apparent fight involving three women.

Police Chief Rick Bleichner said it took some time but they were able to find the location in the 200 block of Parkinson Street, behind Budget Liquors.

"There was some filming that was on the Facebook Live that was in the apartment. There was also some filming that showed a hallway area and a doorway. And through that that's how we were able to find the building and the apartment because of some specifics in that," said Bleichner.

The original notification happened around midnight. Police had located the apartment by 2 a.m. Officers set up a perimeter and were getting ready to make contact, according to Bleichner.

"Shortly before they were ready to do that they heard what sounded like a single gunshot in the apartment. At that point officers fell back a little bit and devised a different plan, which involved our emergency response unit. There were multiple individuals inside, so to be safe we also contacted our crisis negotiators," said Bleichner.

Those negotiators were unable to convince everyone to leave, though Bleichner said some people did so.

"So we had to go in and remove the others," said Bleichner.

Police said one person had a firearm and was arrested on a felony charge. Another person was also charged with a violation, Bleichner said.

Bleichner said the investigation continues, trying to identify everyone in the video, and talking to them about what happened before and after the video as well as the context on the recording.

There were no injuries to the seven people in the apartment when police went in, according to Bleichner. The chief also said there did not appear to be any serious injuries to anyone in the video.

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WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.
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