UPDATED 6:44 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – One search warrant led to two arrests by Peoria Police Wednesday afternoon at a home, with at least one arrest in connection to recent shootings at Peoria Manual High School.
Peoria Police Chief Echevarria says a search warrant was being executed at a home in the area of W. Nebraska and Underhill on a 16-year-old male who wasn’t wearing an ankle bracelet.
He says during that search, police located a different 16-year-old male who was a suspect in the shootings near Manual High. Both teens are in police custody.
One of the shootings occurred Tuesday, in which bullets struck the main entry to Manual High, along with a vehicle. The other occurred last week, in which a Manual student was injured while walking to school.
Echevarria believes the suspect in the shootings was not a student at Manual. He says a search of the house turned up several illegal weapons.
Echevarria says the shootings near Manual High were not random.
“These are targeted events, these are targeted,” Echevarria said. “Somebody was targeted, and the school was just a victim of the direction that somebody was shooting.”
Echevarria says they are still looking to find and talk to those who were the targets of the shootings. He says there are still many questions to be answered.
“We don’t know, unless we talk to them, and they share that information, we don’t get a full story, right?” Echevarria said. “And often times, these juveniles are not cooperative, including the victims.
Echevarria made similar pleas in August for people to cooperate with and talk to police after a pair of fatal shootings occurring within an hour of each other.
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PEORIA, Ill. – Two teenagers were arrested Wednesday by Peoria Police, and at least one of the arrests was in connection with two recent shootings in the area of Peoria Manual High School.
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria says a 16-year-old male was arrested Wednesday after he was found to be wanted on a warrant.
He says while officers conducted a search warrant of a home near Nebraska and University in connection with a shooting Tuesday that caused bullets to hit both Manual and a car, another 16-year-old was found that police believe committed another shooting that injured a Manual student walking to school a week ago.
That teen is allegedly connected to both shootings. At least one of the teens is said to have an extensive criminal history.
Both are now being held at the Juvenile Detention Center. Echevarria blasted both victims and witnesses to the incidents, saying they have not cooperated with investigators.
This story will be updated.
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