PEORIA, Ill. – Some South Peoria residents are starting to speak out about the violence in their neighborhoods, after a 15-year-old was shot and killed over the weekend.
One resident, speaking anonymously with 25 News, says if a late religious leader knew what was going on frequently in an area named after him, he’d be disappointed.
“Martin Luther King would be ashamed to have his name on that park over there because of all the destruction that’s going on,” said the resident, who lives near the shooting, to 25 News. “Take the name off and name it ‘Killer Park’ because that’s all that’s going on over here.”
Emarion Carpenter was killed and another teen received a hand injury after being shot early Sunday morning after three different ShotSpotter alerts came in, starting on McBean Street.
“Give them a way out of this situation, instead of saying we are hopeless down here because we’re not,” said the resident. “Good people live here.”
The resident claims more police officers in his area between the hours of nine p-m and four a-m would go a long way to curbing the violence.
Still no word on suspects or any arrests in connection with the ninth homicide of the year Sunday.
According to statistics from Peoria Police distributed to media last Friday, prior to the latest shooting death, the number of overall homicides in the city was still down ten percent compared to this time last year. Homicides overall are still down significantly compared to the record 2021 year of 34.
