SIUE nursing student shot earlier this month near Edwardsville dies in hospital
A Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student who was shot near campus earlier this month died of his injuries Wednesday morning, according to SIUE officials.
Moneer Damra, 27, of Chicago, was a nursing student in the university’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). He planned to become a U.S. Army nurse.
“Obviously, we’re devastated for his family and our community,” Dean of Students Kara Shustrin said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “We’re currently working with our counseling service team to support students, faculty and staff.”
Lt. Col. Tim Clark, SIUE professor of military science, called Damra a “beautiful human being” who overcame many obstacles in his short life.
Damra lost more than 200 pounds to participate in the ROTC program.
“You could tell that he loved it,” Clark said. “No matter how hard something may have been physically or how busy he was or how stressful the coursework became, he always had a smile on his face. He was always more concerned about others than he was for himself.”
SIUE plans to hold some type of remembrance or memorial service in the future, depending on COVID circumstances, Shustrin said.
Damra was shot near campus about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 14. A university news release called it a “random act of gun violence.”
SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll told The Alestle student newspaper that the victim was in the passenger seat of a car with a female driver, who called 911 and drove to University Drive, where university police assisted with CPR.
Illinois State Police reportedly found an abandoned vehicle on the ramp from Illinois 157 to Interstate 270, where witnesses had observed people fleeing on foot into a nearby wooded area, and took four suspects into custody.
The Madison County state’s attorney’s office later charged two suspects in the shooting.
They include Jimmy Ortiz, 19, of Hazelwood, Missouri, who was charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, both Class X felonies; and a 16-year-old from Woodson Terrace, Missouri, who the BND is not naming because he’s a minor.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 2:48 PM.
