Man shot to death near Public Square in Belleville. ‘Person of interest’ arrested

A man was found shot to death in downtown Belleville on Saturday afternoon, and a person of interest is in custody, Assistant Police Chief Mark Heffernan said.

Aaron Metts, 27, of Belleville was pronounced dead at the scene at North 1st Street and West B Street at 1:05 p.m., according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, Dye said. Metts’ last known address was the 100 block of North First Street.

Belleville police officers were sent to North 1st Street and West B Street in response to a report of multiple shots fired around noon.

When officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot, Heffernan said.

“Preliminary investigation by the detectives uncovered that a person of interest may be in a nearby residence, and Belleville police worked with the St. Clair County State’s Attorneys Office and secured multiple search warrants related to this investigation,” Heffernan told the BND.

‘Belleville/St. Clair Regional Special Response Team went to the residence where multiple search warrants were executed and a person of interest was taken into custody,” he said.

Heffernan said the person of interest is an adult male and is being held by the Belleville Police Department pending further investigation.

“We do not believe that there’s an ongoing threat in this area,” Heffernan said. “This incident was completely unrelated to the Belleville Chili Cook-off, and there never was any threat to the cook-off in any way.”

The shooting happened two blocks from Public Square, where thousands of people strolled along East Main Street enjoying the food and live music Friday and Saturday at the annual Belleville Chili Cook-off. The shooting was reported about an hour after the cook-off’s scheduled start on Saturday.

``Belleville police were in close communication with cook-off organizers and relayed information to organizers throughout this incident,” Heffernan said.

Late Saturday afternoon, streets around the site of the shooting and police investigation were blocked with crime scene tape. Bystanders along West B Street watched quietly from a distance and behind the tape as officers did their work.

Blocks away, thousands of people walked around Public Square and along East Main, where the cook-off continued uninterrupted.

This story was originally published October 7, 2023 at 3:48 PM.