Dec. 08--Two college students from the Chicago area who were abducted in Rochester, N.Y., are safe after a SWAT team rescued them, officials said Monday.
Rochester police say a SWAT team rescued the two University of Rochester seniors Sunday night.
One of them was shot in the leg before the rescue operation, but police said his injury was non-life-threatening. Both students were taken to a hospital.
Nicholas "Niko" Kollias, of Northbrook, and Ani Okeke Ewo, of Naperville, were reported missing Saturday evening, hours after they were last seen near the school.
Ewo is a player on the football team, and Kollias is a former team member.
Police said they were targeted by their assailants and there was no broader threat.
Four people were taken into custody. The investigation is ongoing.
University of Rochester officials issued a statement calling the abduction "a serious, but isolated incident."
In the statement, President Joel Seligman thanked Rochester police and its SWAT team for rescuing the victims. He wrote: "... Our campuses and housing are safe. Students can go about their regular routines, attend classes, go to the library and to labs, as they normally do."
He stated that he will provide more detail about the incident in the "near future."
Ewo graduated from Romeoville High School in 2012 after playing football there, according to former teammate Donald Miller of Bolingbrook. Ani Okeke Ewo and Ugwu Okeke Ewo are both listed on the Rochester football team roster as twins.
"For him to be involved in anything like this is shocking," Miller said. "He's not one to get into it or have any confrontation with anybody at all. He and his brother are very bright kids. I'd recommend him to do anything for me or anybody else."
Ani Ewo's LinkedIn page lists a wide variety of activities, including playing defensive back for the football team, where he was named as a junior at 6 feet 3 inches tall, 200 pounds. He was also named to the All-Academic Team in the Liberty League, handled accounting for the university residential hall league and some social media for the school and served as keynote speaker for an alumni relations.
Kollias also played football at Rochester, after attending Glenbrook North High School, where he also wrestled, ran track and earned Academic All-Conference honors his senior year, according to the University of Rochester website. Kollias was listed on a past college football roster as a 6 feet 1 inch, 215-pound defensive end who was majoring in business/psychology.
Aurora Beacon-News reporter Erika Wurtz and The Associated Press contributed.
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
