Major Case Squad identifies 32-year-old victim of shooting at Collinsville home
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis has identified the female victim of a shooting in Collinsville early Tuesday.
Police had responded shortly after 6 a.m. to a report of gunshots being heard in the vicinity of Olive Street and Indiana Avenue, according to a news release posted on Twitter.
They found Portia L. Rowland, 32, of Collinsville, who had been shot, lying near the garage at 1301 Olive St. She was pronounced dead by a representative of the Madison County coroner’s office.
Collinsville police requested assistance from the Major Case Squad, Lt. Mark Kuechle told the BND in the late morning. Collinsville Lt. Eric Owen was named deputy commander.
“Upon activation, approximately 30 investigators responded to assist with the investigation,” stated the news release, which was posted later in the afternoon. “Currently, it is early in the investigation, but investigators are following up on several leads.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Case Squad through Collinsville Police Department at 618-344-2131, ext. 5924, or Crime Stoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).
As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, police had blocked off the small brick ranch home and yard on Olive Street with yellow tape. It was still decorated with Christmas lights. Two patrol cars and a fire truck were parked on the street. Officers at the scene declined to comment.
The BND contacted several neighbors, who asked to remain anonymous. None reported hearing or seeing anything related to a shooting.
Collinsville Police Department posted the following Facebook notice at 7:46 a.m. Tuesday:
“We are actively investigating an incident in the area of Indiana and Olive. At this time we do not believe there is an active threat in the area. We have notified Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 as some bus stops may need to be modified due to road closures. We will release more details at a later time.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM.
