One man is dead and another hospitalized after a Thursday morning shooting on Peoria's South Side, not far from another shooting occurred the night before.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said 23-year-old Billy Chaplin of Peoria was pronounced deceased at 9:43 a.m. in the trauma room at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
Chaplin's death is being investigated as a homicide. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Peoria police spokesperson Semone Roth said officers responded to a 25-round ShotSpotter alert in the 2100 block of West Antoinette just after 9 a.m.
Another man injured in the shooting is reportedly in stable condition. Both were transported to a local hospital from the scene.
Charles Morris lives a block away from where the shooting occurred. He said the surge of violence in the past week has residents on edge.
"Yes, they're fearful. The neighborhood, yes, people out here are fearful," Morris said. "They can't have the kids out here playing in the yards, playing in the parks. Yes, the neighborhoods, the communities are fearful. They need help."
Morris said he's working to establish a group called Fresh Start Peoria to address violence in the community.
"What I do know is kids need help, and somebody needs to step up and get out here," he said. "I'm gonna take initiative and step up and get out here with some guys and do some things to try to get these kids off the streets."
At an afternoon news conference, Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria said it's believed the Antoinette shooting and a later homicide on Helen Street are connected. He said an arrest has been made, but declined to elaborate on which case or cases to which that arrest or arrests were linked.
Peoria Public Schools spokesperson Haleemah Na'Allah said Manual High School was on a soft lockdown.
This comes hours after four children and two adults were injured in the 2200 block of West Marquette. Five people were shot, and one person suffered a laceration. Two people suffered critical injuries.
And, Tuesday night, a juvenile suffered serious injuries in a shooting. He was found in a house in the 1300 block of West Smith.
There's no word on any arrests in the incidents.
"I'm calling out the men, the positive men out here in Peoria, Illinois, to come out and try to help come together, come up with some solutions," Morris said.
"My only solution is to come out here, get together, come out here and police these streets. Get these young guys off the streets, into something — some type of programs. They will listen, I know they will. They just need someone that comes from where they come from."
