Notre Dame shooting victims in recovery

SOUTH BEND – Matt Collins, one of two University of Notre Dame seniors shot and wounded outside Club 23 on Aug. 21, was released from St. Joseph Regional Medical Center on Monday. \nCollins has been moved to the University Health Services building, and doctors expect him to make a full recovery, though a bullet remains in his abdomen. Any procedure to remove it would be considered too risky, Collins said. \nThe other shooting victim, Mitchell Depree, was treated and released from the hospital Aug. 21. \nCollins does not know how long he will remain at Health Services, but he hopes to attend this weekend’s opening football game against Georgia Tech, his mother, Karen Collins, said Tuesday. \nPolice are still searching for the shooter. Investigators are conducting ballistics tests on the bullets found at the scene but results will not be available for a few weeks, said Captain Phil Trent of the South Bend Police Department. \nCollins and Depree were shot around 1 a.m. on Aug. 21 following a “harsh” conversation with the shooter, who returned several minutes later in an SUV and fired five shots at the students, Trent said.\nThe students were taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, where Depree was treated for a leg wound and then released, Trent said. The gunshot wounds Collins received to his abdomen and leg, however, were initially considered so life-threatening that he requested and received last rites. \nCollins said the shooter – who neither he nor his friends had ever met – approached him, Depree and another Notre Dame senior in front of Club 23 while they were waiting for a ride, according to Karen Collins. \nWhen the man asked the three students for a ride, they said no, Karen Collins said. The man – who police described as a short-haired black male of average build wearing a clean, white T-shirt – then walked out of sight. He returned moments later in the passenger seat of a black SUV as it drove up to the curb where the three seniors stood. He then exchanged words before firing five shots, Karen Collins said. Two of the bullets hit Collins, and one hit Depree. \nThe car’s driver then drove northbound on Notre Dame Avenue, Trent said. \nUniversity officials were notified of the shooting before 2 a.m. Aug. 21 and became immediately involved, university spokesperson Dennis Brown said. Associate Vice President for Residence Life and Housing Bill Kirk visited Matthew Collins and Depree at the hospital later that morning, Brown said.