PEORIA -- Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion said a lack of cooperation from people with information is hindering the investigation into the shooting death of 4-year-old Jeremiah Ward.
Marion said Thursday that community involvement is vital for police trying to solve crimes.
"We still have individuals that are not cooperating with the police, and that is what is frustrating for me and the detectives and the officers of the police department that we have a dead 4-year-old, and people are not coming forward," he said.
Ward was shot three times outside the Lincoln Terrace Apartments on Peoria's South Side on May 13. Police recovered 19 shell casings from the scene. Authorities believe Ward was caught in the crossfire of a targeted shooting.
Marion said he believes there are still people with firsthand knowledge of the shooting who are withholding information from police.
Marion contrasted the Ward case to the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old on Peoria's East Bluff on June 12. He said community cooperation there helped police make arrests in the case quickly.