EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Charges have been filed against three people who authorities say are responsible for Thursday's shooting that injured 7 people in East St. Louis.
The suspects are 32-year-old Lorenzo Bruce Jr., 30-year-old Cartez Beard, and 35-year-old Deangelo Higgs. The Office of the St. Clair County State’s Attorney, James Gomric, is charging each of the three men with one count of Felon in Possession of a Weapon (Class 3 Felony), and seven counts of Aggravated Battery/Discharge of a Firearm (Class X Felony).
According to Illinois State Police, troopers responded to a shooting near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and 6th Street around 4:00 p.m.
Simultaneously, a 3-year-old boy who had been shot was taken to the East St. Louis Police Department by his caretaker. Multiple agents then took him to the hospital.
Officers on scene were notified of additional shooting victims in the area of MLK and Sixth Street, including one victim who was involved in a collision with a MetroLink train nearby. The driver of that vehicle, a 25-year-old male, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say none of the passengers on the train were hurt.
Five other people, ages ranging from 24 to 53, were shot during the incident. In total, 7 people, including the child, were shot. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Witnesses reported seeing three men fleeing the scene with weapons. Within minutes, a perimeter was established in the area by officials and a search began for the suspected shooters. In less than an hour, helicopters and drones were in the air assisting the search.
The search concluded early Friday morning, around 2:30 a.m. The three suspects were located in the basement of a partially demolished building in the 600 block of St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. Bruce Jr., Beard, and Higgs were safely taken into custody.
Their bond was set at $950,000.
The city of East St. Louis announced a curfew, which is from midnight to 6 a.m., as a temporary measure to prevent violence.