Carbondale Alerts
Carbondale Police Press Release- Reckless Discharge of a Firearm
NEWS RELEASE
City of Carbondale, Illinois
December 22, 2025
For Immediate Release
CARBONDALE – On December 19, 2025, at about 10:45 p.m., City of Carbondale Police Officers responded to the 2500 block of New Era Road in reference to an Unlawful Use of a Weapon in progress. Officers learned the suspect, Ethan Hipps, age 25 of Carbondale, was firing rounds from a homemade firearm. Officers also learned that Hipps had an active Jackson County Failure to Appear Warrant for Unlawful Restraint, and was inside a residence occupied by a second adult and an infant. A Civic Alert was sent out requesting the public to avoid the area during the investigation. Officers attempted to make contact with Hipps but were forced to enter due to exigent circumstances. Officers safely took Hipps into custody without incident, and no injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
During the investigation, officers recovered evidence consistent with homemade firearms manufacturing, firearm ammunition, and drug paraphernalia. Hipps was arrested for Reckless Discharge of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Firearm Projectiles, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, Endangering the Life and Health of a Child, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Hipps was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail pending a detention hearing. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the police department at the numbers listed below. The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the City of Carbondale Police Department at (618) 549-2121. You may also call the Carbondale/SIU Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (618) 549-COPS (2677) or the Murphysboro/Jackson County anonymous tip line at (618) 687-COPS (2677). Anonymous tips may also be made by selecting the “Crime Stoppers” tab on this website’s main page. Please help yourself and your county, its communities, and the university campus by using these numbers if you witness or have any information about a crime. Cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest are also made anonymously. Remember, crime doesn’t pay, but Crime Stoppers does! For more information about Crime Stoppers, please follow the QR Code.
The mission of the Carbondale Police Department is to work in partnership with our community to preserve life, protect human rights, protect property and improve quality of life by providing police service to all in a fair, sensitive, and professional manner.