Two University of Rochester students abducted Saturday morning were rescued by a SWAT unit on Sunday night, but not before one of them was shot. Details were murky.
Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli did say that Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke-Ewo were "wrongfully held for many hours" before they were located, reported
WIVB-TV. Authorities also said on Saturday that Kollias and Okeke-Ewo were missing under "suspicious circumstances and may be in danger."
Ciminelli said both students were located after police participated in a hostage rescue about 9:20 p.m. Sunday. Both were transported to a hospital with one of them suffering a gunshot wound. Why they were abducted and how one of them was shot also wasn't clear.
Authorities said they took four people into custody.
Ciminelli told the
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that the suspects will possibly face kidnapping and assault charges.
Ciminelli said he believed the victims were targeted by the four suspects and no other students were threatened.
"I do want to point out this was a directed event and we have no information or evidence of any kind that this constituted a general threat to the University of Rochester community, nor do we have any information or evidence that there is a threat or safety concern to the University of Rochester community at this point," said Ciminelli.
University President Joel Seligman said he talked with the parents of Kollias and Okeke-Ewo and expressed gratitude for the students' safe return.
WHAM-TV reported that Kollias is from Northbrook, Illinois and Okeke-Ewo is from Aurora, Illinois.
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