URBANA — A Rantoul man has been charged with attempted murder Friday after an incident the afternoon before in which vehicles traded gunfire in a neighborhood near Frasca Field in northeast Urbana, leaving one man hospitalized.
Erick Estrada, 19, also faces charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a vehicle and mob action.
Champaign County Sheriff’s Lt. Curt Apperson said authorities were notified around 4 p.m. Thursday that at least three vehicles had followed each other to the 200 block of Apple Tree Drive before exchanging gunfire. One of the vehicles had bullet holes and officers located casings in the area, Apperson added.
According to law-enforcement reports, a 21-year-old man was shot in the neck. He was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital, and his condition was unknown Friday.
Deputies in the area initiated a traffic stop of one of the suspected vehicles in a nearby parking lot on North Cunningham Avenue, and took two males in the vehicle into custody without incident. One of them, a 16-year-old, was released to the custody of his parents. The other, identified as Estrada, was arrested.
The shooting remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office’s investigations division at 217-384-1213 or, if wishing to remain anonymous, Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477 or 373tips.com or via the free “P3 Tips” mobile app.
