East St. Louis man was shot twice at close range, police report says

Just before a 49-year-old man was shot in East St. Louis on Sept. 19, a witness heard a man yell “What’s up now, (racial slur),” according to a police report.

Edwin Cook Sr., 49, was fatally shot just before 9:45 p.m. Sept. 19 near Lincoln Park. When police arrived, Officer Isaiah Sherrod wrote that he saw Cook take a light breath, then he appeared to be lifeless after that. Officials pronounced him dead at a St. Louis hospital.

The witness saw a black man approach Cook from across the front lawn of the Mary E. Brown Center, before yelling “What’s up now, (racial slur)” and firing several rounds into Cook at close range, according to the report.

Cook fell to the ground, and the shooter retreated and ran toward an orange Dodge Charger with a racing stripe down the center, the report said. Police found two shell cases on the sidewalk near where Cook was shot.

A black man has been arrested in connection with Cook’s death, but it does not appear that any charges have been filed as of Tuesday night. The News-Democrat is not naming the man because he has not been charged.

Cook had just moved from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to East St. Louis in October 2016, his sister Shuronde Jones told the News-Democrat. He had four adult children, and also left his brother and father behind.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "East St. Louis man was shot twice at close range, police report says."