Two people killed Thursday morning in Peoria on heels of mass shooting
PEORIA — Two people were killed in two separate shootings that police believe were related as a wave of gun violence shocked the city Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The shootings Thursday morning came on the heels of a mass shooting Wednesday night that left six people — four of them juveniles — injured. The mass shooting is not believed to be related to the violence Thursday morning, police said.
Two males were shot in the 2100 block of West Antoinette Street on Thursday around 9 a.m., just 12 hours after the mass shooting on Marquette Street. One victim of the Antoinette Street shooting was later pronounced dead. He was identified as Billy Chaplin, a 23-year-old from Peoria, according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood.
Later, 19-year-old Damar Watts was shot and killed on South Helen Street around 10:20 a.m. Thursday. Watts, of West Ann Street, was pronounced dead at a residence at 10:55 a.m., Harwood said.
Watts had apparent gunshot wounds and was "beyond help," according to the coroner. His death is being investigated as a homicide, and an autopsy was scheduled for Friday.
"There's a war on the streets right now, and people have decided they're going to take justice into their hands and commit these crimes we're seeing," Peoria police Chief Eric Echevarria said.
Peoria police said there were 25 rounds fired Thursday morning around 9 a.m. When police responded to the scene, they located two males injured by gunfire.
Both were taken to a hospital. Chaplin was originally in critical condition but was later pronounced dead. The second victim is in stable condition, police said.
Echevarria also said that people in the community need to drop the stigma around "snitching."
"People need to start speaking up. People need to start sharing information," Echevarria said. "People know what happened. They know exactly what happened."
Rash of violence in Peoria sparks response from schools, restaurants
In response to the violence on Wednesday and Thursday, Peoria Public Schools canceled all after-school activities at five different schools.
Two Peoria restaurants also announced they would alter operations. Avanti's said on Facebook it would be halting deliveries to certain areas of town. Another local business, On Da Bun, announced it was closing Thursday just after 2:30 p.m., citing "incidents today" affecting nearby schools.
More: Logan Dunne went missing from a Peoria hospital. His case is getting national attention
Violent month in Peoria continues with Thursday shootings
Thursday morning's shootings come on the heels of a Wednesday burst of violence in South Peoria that left six people injured after 29 rounds were fired in the 2200 block of West Marquette Street around 9 p.m.
Two victims in the mass shooting were in critical condition. Four others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
The shootings Wednesday night and Thursday morning are part of a spate of gun violence that has hit Peoria over the past couple of weeks.
On Aug. 26, Damarquis Richardson, 34, was shot and killed in the 2800 block of Northeast Madison at 1:13 p.m.
Later that same day, 21-year-old Mason R. Loy was found shot to death in the parking lot of Laramie Liquors at 1841 S. Laramie St.
On Tuesday night, a juvenile was shot and injured inside a home in the 1300 block of West Smith Street.
On Aug. 22, 17-year-old Dahvie P. Brown-Bay was shot and killed near Glen Oak Community Learning Center in Peoria's East Bluff neighborhood.
After Brown-Bay was shot and killed, 12 hours later another man was shot in the East Bluff neighborhood the morning of Aug. 23 in the 500 block of East Illinois Avenue.
Maurice Young, 42, was shot and killed in the 400 block of East Arcadia Avenue in the early morning hours of Aug. 19.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Three people shot, two killed in Peoria, IL after mass shooting
