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Editor’s note: This article discusses domestic violence. If you or a loved one is suffering from domestic violence or an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233).) Or visit www.thehotline.org. Callers can remain anonymous.
Five people were killed, two others were injured and two teenage boys were taken into custody in a shooting that targeted a family in southern Illinois, authorities said.
The suspects, ages 15 and 16, were arrested July 12 at Frank Holten State Park, a recreational area near East St. Louis, according to Illinois State Police. The suspects were arrested after state troopers performed a precision immobilization technique (PIT) on a vehicle that one of the suspects was driving.
Illinois State Police Chief Brendan Kelly said in a brief news conference that the shootings occurred in three locations within a few miles of each other and targeted the same family.
“At least seven members of the targeted family were shot at multiple locations in the East St. Louis area, and five victims are confirmed dead at this time,” Kelly said, adding that two other victims were seriously injured.
At least one of the suspects is related to the victim, Kelly said. State police did not provide further details about the suspect or the circumstances of the shooting.
Kelly said state police are working with the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office and will seek charges against the suspect. The investigation into this incident is still ongoing.
East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, with a population of approximately 18,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city is located across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.
Victims identified in shooting incident
State police identified the five people who died as Shelley L. May, 49. Devin D. May 24th. Patricia A. May, 74 years old. Quentin L. Thompson, 21 years old. and Shania W. Thompson (25).
One victim was killed near North 39th Street and Summit Avenue, three were killed at Samuel Gompers Homes and another was killed at Jones Park, Kelly said.
Two other victims were injured at Jones Park but survived, Kelly said. They suffered serious injuries and were being treated at a St. Louis hospital.
“These horrific acts of violence have claimed so many lives and are horrific here in this community. They are evil, but they cannot be subdued in this city,” Kelly said.
Latest domestic related photography
The East St. Louis incident is the latest domestic-related shooting in the United States in recent months.
A man turned himself in to police on June 9 after killing four people, including his parents, brother and his brother’s girlfriend, in a shooting at his family’s home in suburban Detroit, authorities said. At the time, police said the suspect had a “contentious relationship” with his parents.
On June 1, a 52-year-old man killed six members of his family in what appeared to be a domestic dispute in a small eastern Iowa city, according to local police. According to police, the suspect committed suicide when confronted by officers.
In May, Houston police announced they were investigating a murder-suicide after four relatives were found shot to death in their home. Authorities later reported that evidence showed the 52-year-old man shot his wife and two children before shooting himself.
A community in northwestern Louisiana was rocked in April by a mass shooting that left eight children dead. At the time, the Shreveport Police Department announced that the suspected gunman killed seven of his children and injured his wife and another woman.
That same month, authorities announced that former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife Selina Fairfax and then committed suicide while the couple were embroiled in a “complicated or messy” divorce. Police said the couple’s teenage son and daughter were home at the time of the incident, but were not harmed.
Domestic violence in the United States
According to the Johns Hopkins University Gun Violence Prevention Center, domestic violence “is a public health crisis, and given the availability and accessibility of guns in the United States, this violence is often perpetrated with firearms.”
On its website, the center said researchers found that nearly half of murdered women in the United States were killed by a current or former intimate partner. More than half of these incidents involved firearms, the center said.
The center also noted that approximately 68% of mass shootings from 2014 to 2019 involved perpetrators who had killed a family member or intimate partner or had a history of domestic violence.
A 2023 investigation by the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, identified at least 227 incidents of family breakdown across the United States from 2020 to April 2023, resulting in 754 deaths. According to the paper’s analysis, such murders occurred on average once every five days.
Research shows that family separation is one of the most extreme forms of domestic violence. It was also found that in 64% of cases, the person who wiped out their family committed suicide.
Contributor: Mary Claire Molloy, Indianapolis Star
