Teenager one of two people hit in East St. Louis shooting
A juvenile and an adult male were were hit by gunfire in East St. Louis and the shooter remains at large, police said.
An East St. Louis police officer was driving in his squad car east Wednesday night on Caseyville Avenue when he heard multiple gunshots.
According to a released issued by the department, the officer spotted a dark-colored vehicle with tinted windows driving at a high rate of speed on 32nd Street. He followed the vehicle onto 40th Street and towards Bunkum Road.
The driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed into a wooded area near Bunkum Road, the officer reported.
Two suspects jumped from the vehicle and ran off into a wooded area out of the officer’s vision. Officers found a weapon inside of the vehicle, according to the release.
Officers returned to the area where the officer heard the gunshots to look for victims. While checking the area, they were informed that a person was hit and taken at Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville.
Police learned the victim was a 17-year old juvenile male who had sustained a bullet wound, the release stated. The teenager told police that he saw the dark colored vehicle with tinted windows drive down the street with someone firing rounds in the direction where he was standing with others.
While at the hospital, police learned there was a second male victim who was at Belleville Memorial Hospital. He told police he didn’t recognize the vehicle from which the shots were fired.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
