Peoria Community Against Violence member Lisa Snow is urging anyone with information on Sunday morning’s Riverfront shooting incident that injured 13 victims to come forward and assist the police investigation.
According to Officer Amy Dotson of the Peoria Police, about 200 people were gathered near Water and Hamilton when a fight broke out around 4:45 a.m. Dotson said multiple shooters opened fire during a dispute between groups of people.
“The community needs to stand together against violence and let it be known that this is not acceptable,” said Snow, the retired Peoria assistant police chief. “People who saw what happened should come forward and let the police know so that it can be properly investigated.
“This is not acceptable in our community. It’s not acceptable in any community.”
Two people were taken from the scene to local hospitals via ambulance; a man with a gunshot wound to the neck and a woman who was shot in the back are reported in serious condition. Eleven others arrived at hospitals in private vehicles. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening at this time, according to Dotson.
In an unrelated incident, Dotson said police are seeking Devaughn J. Owens, 18, in connection with a Saturday night shooting at a downtown apartment complex. A man who was shot in the face has been hospitalized with injuries that are considered serious, but not life-threatening.
The incidents contributed to an already violent weekend in the city. Two other shootings early Saturday left one man dead and two others injured. Caleb McCracken, 40, was killed and another man was injured around 1:30 a.m. in the 2500 block of West Siebold; a man with a gunshot wound arrived at a hospital shortly after reports of gunfire in the 2100 block of North Hampton Court.
Snow, a community outreach coordinator for Lurie Children’s Hospital who assists the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System, said the incidents show more work must be done to reduce gun violence.
“There’s all kinds of ways that the community members can volunteer, and of course one way is to volunteer with the Peoria Community Against Violence,” Snow said. “You don’t have to do a lot, but just showing up and showing support and going on the marches is important to let people know that we as community do not approve of this violence.
“Our young people are being killed at really an alarming rate and this is our future. So we need to stand together to stop it.”
Anyone with information on any of the shooting incidents is asked to call Peoria police at (309) 673-4521 or CrimeStoppers anonymously at (309) 673-9000.
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