Victim of East St. Louis homicide identified as 32-year-old

Authorities on Tuesday released the identity of a man who was killed in a hail of gunfire in the 1300 block of North 37th Street near Van Buren Avenue in East St. Louis.

Ralph Collier, 32, of 1368 N. 37th St. in East Louis, died as a result of the bullet wounds he suffered Monday, according to the St. Clair County coroner’s office.

GUEST BOOK: Express your condolences to the family of Ralph Collier

East St. Louis Police investigators, joined by Illinois State Police agents, continued their joint investigation Tuesday. Police Chief Michael Hubbard said police were dispatched to 37th Street and Van Buren at 4:01 p.m. after a caller reported hearing a number of gunshots.

“The call came in to the police department as shots fired, man down,” Hubbard said.

When officers arrived on scene, they located two men: one dead, and another who was suffering from gunshot wounds The survivor was taken to an area hospital. His medical condition was not immediately available Tuesday afternoon.

Police did not locate a weapon at the scene, but multiple shell casings were found. A crowd started gathering at the location almost immediately, some of them crying.

Carolyn P. Smith

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Victim of East St. Louis homicide identified as 32-year-old."