PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria Police found six victims on W. Marquette Street after responding to a pair of ShotSpotter alerts Wednesday night.
The first alert around 9 p.m., indicated 10 shots were fired, the second alert indicated 19 more rounds were fired.
Peoria Police Spokesperson Semone Roth said five of the victims, found near the intersection of W. Marquette and Westmoreland, had gunshot wounds, the sixth suffered a laceration in the incident.
An adult male and a juvenile male were listed in critical condition overnight, according to police. The other gunshot victims, an adult male and three juvenile males, had non-life-threatening injuries.
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria spoke with 25 News at the scene.
“When we arrived here, obviously there was chaos,” said Echevarria.
“You can imagine when you have six victims and family members, and everybody that comes out from their homes, nobody wants to hear that amount of gunfire in their neighborhood. One round is enough, let alone 29 rounds,” the chief said.
Wednesday night’s mass shooting comes amid high tensions following four shootings in four days, leaving two people dead and a 17-year-old charged with first-degree murder.
“We’ve had numerous shootings in the last week. Our officers have been very busy working these shootings and these investigations, and we’ve got to figure out now what’s linked to what, and who’s causing this, and what is really going on behind the scenes between these parties,” Echevarria said.
There is no suspect information. Police are investigating.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Peoria Police at (309) 673-4521, CrimeStoppers at (309) 673-9000, or tip411.
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