It seems like this summer has been a string of shootings and stabbings, but it’s not too far off from last year’s numbers.
Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion III tells WMBD’s Greg and Dan that the city has seen 46 people shot in 39 incidents this year.
“Compared to last year, we are three up. So last year we had 43 individuals shot in 35 incidents,” Marion said.
July 3 through July 6, Peoria saw 11 shootings, and multiple stabbings.
“When you see such an increase like that, it gives the perception that everything is breaking loose,” Marion said.
Marion said they are looking in to see if the recent shootings over the holiday weekend are related.
The night of July 3 going into the morning of July 4, was one of the busiest nights in Marion’s 25 year career.
“I’d like to commend the officers on the work that they did during that time,” Marion said. “It was a busy day”.
Out of this year’s violence, there have been 13 homicides. Some remain unsolved due to lack of cooperation with the police department. Marion said the lack of cooperation can be frustrating.
“We’ve had cooperation in some of the more recent shootings,” Marion said. “But there’s a couple. I’ll give an example, the 4-year-old homicide. That one is very frustrating. The cooperation level is not there”.
Four-year-old Jeremiah Ward was shot three times on May 13, and later died at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center due to his injuries. No arrests have been made in that case.
Marion said up until June, the department has seized 155 guns, compared to 112 seized in previous years.
“The officers are out there working and working hard,” Marion said. “They’re seizing the guns, but there’s still more out there”.
