East St. Louis and Illinois State Police investigate weekend shooting death
A man was shot Saturday afternoon in East St. Louis and died later at the hospital, authorities said.
Charles Howliet, of East St. Louis, was pronounced dead at 12:28 p.m. at Touchette Regional Hospital, according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr.
Police were called to South 11th Street at Market Avenue to investigate a report of shots fired and someone in the roadway, but the victim was not on the scene, East St. Louis Police Sgt. Cantrell Patterson said in a release.
A man driving by the area heard gunshots, saw the victim and drove him to the hospital, the release said.
Howliet’s home is in the 1200 block of McCasland Avenue, but he did not live in the nearby public housing unit, said Cortez Slack, chief of public safety for the East St. Louis Housing Authority.
“It’s unfortunate that this young man lost his life to gun violence,” Slack said.
Slack did not know a motive for the shooting.
“I am hopeful that the young people will wake up and put these guns down,” Slack said. “I want more of them to turn their lives around and go in a different direction.
“Also, if anyone knows why this shooting happened, I would encourage them to call the police and help get the shooter off the street,” Slack said. “This is how we clean up our community.”
Illinois State Police and the East St. Louis Police Department are investigating the homicide, which is number 34 for the city.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
