While Notre Dame Stadium was filled with fans watching the Michigan State game, two people were injured by gunfire on Eddy Street Commons. The shooting, which occurred on the evening of Saturday September 19, follows a trend of increasing crime and acts of violence in the student-oriented commons.
On the night of the shooting, Notre Dame police informed the South Bend Police Department (SBPD) of a man aiming a gun at civilians near Eddy Street. While responding to the call, South Bend police officers heard a single gunshot near Eddy Street and Angela Boulevard, where the officers found a woman with a non-fatal gunshot wound, and a South Bend police officer was also injured by ricochet from the gunfire . The injured woman was hospitalized while the officer was treated on-scene.
A separate shooting occurred the same night on Bissell Street, a few blocks away. The SBPD reported that officers were called at 11:30 p.m. on reports of a large fight. Upon arrival, officers found three gunshot victims in critical condition. All three victims were eventually pronounced dead.
South Bend mayor James Mueller commented on the Eddy Street shooting. He stated, “This is an unfortunate issue where you have at the start of the game, folks are being pushed outside the tailgate areas, and oftentimes they’ll go to the Eddy Street area.” This is not the first incident of shooting on Eddy Street this year. Three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries from an earlier shooting on August 8.
South Bend Police Database provides evidence of increased violent crime trends over the course of the last few years. According to the database, calls for service have been steadily mounting in South Bend since 2022. According to WNDU, the number of victims killed or injured by shootings doubled to 10 in the first three months of 2026.
While Eddy Street is not within the borders of campus, it is a student-oriented area which acts as an “extension” of Notre Dame’s campus. Its development was first announced in a 2007 press release by Kite Realty Group, the agency which developed Eddy Street Commons in partnership with the university. The press release includes a quote from Notre Dame’s then-Executive Vice President Dr. John Affleck-Graves, stating, “when it is complete, the development ‘will revitalize the neighborhood at the University’s ‘front door’ and provide modern housing and commercial businesses within easy walking distance of campus, filling a decades-long void.’”
The commercial development and trending restaurants create a welcoming facade, but the threat of crime remains.
Blanca Beltran, the general manager of Bibibop on Eddy street, decried the increased crime to the Rover– “We were having a lot of issues where they were breaking into cars. … mine was one of them.”
Alanna Galicia, a Holy Cross College senior and employee at O’Rourke’s on Eddy Street, told the Rover, “I was very disappointed in the reports of ongoing crime on Eddy Street.” Speaking to her experience of working a shift the day following the shooting, she continued, “It made me feel unsafe and nervous to attend work at night.”
Following the shooting, Kite Realty enforced a curfew whereby all establishments must close by midnight. Additionally, more South Bend police officers now patrol the area at night.
In a media statement to the Rover, the SBPD stated, “The South Bend Police Department, University of Notre Dame (including NDPD), and Kite Realty meet, and have met regularly for years, to discuss gameday safety—including Eddy Street Commons (ESC). Those conversations have become more frequent in the wake of an incident at the ESC on September 19, 2026.”
Beltran remarked, “There’s a greater sense of safety, not just for the owners or the business managers, but even for the students and our families.”
Students shared varying levels of concern in light of Eddy Street crime trends.
Sophomore Shane Unger remarked that he feels “very safe” on Eddy Street, but he also acknowledges the reality of the present threats. He told the Rover, “I feel like past a certain hour, it’s probably best to not be near the Eddy street area.”
Max Gerd, a sophomore, expressed his thoughts on the effectiveness of campus police. “Obviously the measures they’ve taken haven’t been working, but I’m glad they’re responding to the scene quickly,” he shared with the Rover.
An anonymous student said, “I think aside from Eddy Street, Notre Dame does a pretty good job of making sure campus is safe, but I do think Notre Dame views what happens on Eddy Street as outside the Notre Dame ecosystem.”
Senai Alem is a sophomore majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies and Arabic. He enjoys reading classics, listening to 2000’s hip-hop, and eating cheesecake. Contact him at salem@nd.edu.
Clare DiFranco is a senior studying accounting and Italian. Nothing will stop her from attending karaoke at O’Rourkes on Eddy Street. Email cdifranc@nd.edu if you would like to perform a duet.