Rich Egger
The McDonough County Communications Board awarded Letters of Recognition to two of the county s emergency dispatchers. Micheal Phelps and Jayson Sams were the two dispatchers on duty the night of the shooting at Western Illinois University.
The initial call from Thompson Hall came in at around 10:35 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. Sams answered the call, which came from the shooting victim, Amarion Hargrove.
While Sams handled that call, Phelps quickly got out the word to local law enforcement departments.
“He (Sams) is trying to talk to the actual victim who was shot and I’m trying to get everybody there,” Phelps said.