Officer and Bystander Wounded by Single Gunshot Near Notre Dame Tailgate Crowds

A woman and a South Bend police officer were wounded by a single gunshot Saturday night as crowds streamed away from Notre Dame football tailgates toward the nearby Eddy Street Commons shopping district, authorities said.

The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. ET. According to South Bend Police, Notre Dame Police had reported a man seen armed and reportedly pointing a gun at people in the area. When South Bend officers located a suspect matching the description, that person turned out to be unarmed.

“As approximately 20 South Bend Police Officers were working in Eddy Street Commons and responding to that call, a single gunshot was heard near Eddy Street and Angela Boulevard,” South Bend Police said in a Facebook post.

Officers found a woman suffering a non-life-threatening leg wound and a South Bend police officer injured by what may have been a ricochet or shrapnel from the same shot, according to the department.

Both were taken to a local hospital and are expected to recover fully. Police said the officer was “doing fine” and the woman was “okay.”

Notre Dame officials said the suspected shooter fled west from the scene and remains at large, according to a report by NBC 5 Chicago. The suspect was described as a heavyset Black male with dreadlocks, wearing blue shorts and a black shirt with a red and blue design, and missing one shoe.

Police evacuated nearby businesses and parking garages and locked down the commercial district while investigating, asking the public to steer clear of the area as officers secured the scene.

A South Bend Police spokeswoman told Fox News Digital she had nothing to add beyond the department’s Facebook statement.

Roughly one mile away and later that night, a separate shooting left at least two people dead and another critically injured. Police have not indicated any connection between the two incidents.