Coroner IDs man fatally shot in Belleville on Easter night
Belleville Police located the lifeless body of a man Easter Sunday night after getting calls reporting a shooting in the 200 block of Freedom Drive and investigators have identified a “person of interest.”
Keshawn D. Kent, 24, was identified as the victim, according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. Kent’s last known address was in the 1000 block of Forest Home Drive in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, in St. Louis County.
Kent was pronounced deceased at the scene at 11:30 p.m. due to gunshot wounds, Dye said.
Belleville Police Capt. Todd Keilbach said the call reporting the shooting came into the Belleville Police Department at 11 p.m. Sunday.
“Upon arrival, officers located an unresponsive male just outside an apartment complex,” Keilbach said. “The victim was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the upper torso and was not breathing.”
After interviewing multiple witnesses, and locating key evidence, Belleville Police have identified a “person of interest” as part of a “death investigation,” Keilbach said.
Belleville detectives, the department’s crime scene unit and Illinois State Police crime scene investigators responded to process the scene and begin the investigation, Keilbach said.
Keilbach said the investigation is active and ongoing.
Investigators are asking anyone in the public who may have information about this incident to contact the Belleville Police Department at 618-234-1212 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM.
