Teen fatally shot at East St. Louis nightclub. Now his mother wants justice.
The mother of a 17-year old who was shot and killed at a club in East St. Louis on Halloween says she misses her son and wants to know who took his life and why.
Patrick Miley, who family and friends call P.J., was hanging out with his cousin for Halloween fun. He was shot at Club Visions and later died at the scene, 12 days shy of his 18th birthday.
Instead of planning a birthday party, the family has planned a funeral.
“I am devastated over this,” Prentice said. “Whoever did this destroyed us, my mother, his siblings, nieces and other family members are deeply saddened.
“I want justice. I want the police to find the person who did this and bring them to justice.”
East St. Louis Police Chief Kendall Perry said police were called at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 1 in reference to the shooting. When they arrived in the 300 block of North 10th Street, officers found Miley lying in the parking lot of the club, which has a State Street address.
Emergency medical services attempted life-saving measures at the scene, but failed. Multiple shell casings were recovered, Perry said.
A second victim was shot multiple times and transported to Saint Louis University Hospital for treatment. That person’s condition is not known.
St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said Miley’s last known address was in the 3500 block of Bessie Avenue in St. Louis, but family said he was in East St. Louis visiting with cousins.
Kezzy Prentice said her son was a fun-loving person who always wore a smile and loved to be in the company of family and friends.
“I picked him up from school, then I saw him again between 7 and 8 p.m.,” she said. “He was getting ready to go out with his cousins. Before he left he said ‘I love y’all.’”
She said she told him, as she frequently does, to “stay safe.”
Prentice said she got word of his death through one of his two sisters.
“My niece contacted my daughter. She was there at the club when it happened,” she said. “The other cousin who he was with also called and said they were shot.”
Prentice said her son was inside the club. She doesn’t know who would have wanted to injure him, but believes he was targeted by the shooter.
“I think they targeted him once he got outside of the club,” she said. “I guess they knew that car (her son was in). I think they knew that car.“
Perry said police are still investigating whether Miley was inside the nightclub and why a juvenile would have been admitted.
Meanwhile Prentice said her son wasn’t into “negative behavior,” but she doesn’t know why he would have been inside the nightclub.
“My son wasn’t even into that type of lifestyle – one that would be conducive to the kind of activity that occurred,” she said. “People may have been jealous of them, but I don’t know what it could be.”
Whatever the reason, she said, the shootings must stop.
“Another one of his friends was recently killed,” she said. “Every time you turn on the television or listen to the radio, you hear about somebody losing his life.
“It takes nine months to bring a child into the world and you raise him up to become a teenager and then someone takes away any other years he would have had. We don’t know who he would have become. He won’t become an adult, get married, have children, or keep us all laughing.
“It is heartbreaking.”
