East St. Louis manhunt underway after ‘multiple people’ shot
A manhunt was underway in East St. Louis on Thursday night following a shooting in which “multiple people” were injured earlier in the day, according to a statement from the East St. Louis Police Department.
SWAT vehicles were seen on St. Louis Avenue at Seventh Street Thursday evening.
The shooting victims include a man and a woman but the police have not released an exact number of victims.
East St. Louis Police Chief Kendall Perry reported on Thursday afternoon that “multiple people” were shot in the 500 block of Martin Luther King Drive.
The shooting occurred outside the East Side Meat Market at 510 Martin Luther King Drive, Perry said.
Other details of the shooting have not been released.
Illinois State Police said Thursday night the scene is “still active” and asked reporters to go the school district office “for their safety.”
Two police helicopters and a plane were flying over the area at 6:15 p.m.
Officers have blocked off Martin Luther King Drive and St. Louis Avenue.
Also, officers were seen investigating a Toyota RAV4 crashed on the MetroLink tracks at the Martin Luther King Drive crossing. It’s not known how the crash is related to the shootings.
Illinois State Police released a statement earlier in the day saying troopers were on the scene at Martin Luther King Drive and North Sixth Street where “multiple victims” were struck.
“The situation is still rapidly evolving,” the statement said. “Additional information will be provided once it becomes available. Please avoid the area.”
MetroLink announced that the system was shut down between the Fifth & Missouri and Emerson Park stations. Bus shuttles were being used to ferry passengers around this section of the tracks.
Roughly 30-40 people gathered on N. 8th Street and St. Louis Avenue Thursday night as police searched for a suspect or suspects in the shooting.
Demarko Mosley, a part of ROWDY (Removing Obstacles with Dynamic Youth), was among the people gathered there. “I have a youth organization here and we’ve been trying to calm some things down, but it’s not calming down,” he said.
This is a developing story and it will be updated as we get more information.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 8:01 PM.