PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 16-year-old boy died over the weekend, nearly a month after an incident in 2200 block of West Marquette Street that left five shot.
Antonio Walker, who lived on South Greenlawn Avenue, was pronounced dead at OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center on 1:04 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, according to the Peoria County Coroner’s office.
His death is the city’s 22nd homicide of the year.
Walker was taken to the hospital in critical condition and despite aggressive treatment and care over the last month, Walker died while still at Saint Francis, said Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood.
The coroner said an autopsy on the young boy demonstrates he suffered a gunshot wound to the head and had injuries that were inconsistent with life.
This case remains under investigation by the Peoria Police Department. Semone Roth, a police spokeswoman, said no arrests have been made.
Five people were shot and one suffered suffered a laceration in during the Marquette Street incident. At the time, police said two people, one being Walker, was taken to the hospital in “critical” condition.
The shootings on Marquette Street began an exceptionally violent 24 hours where two others — Billy Chaplin and Damar Watts — were shot within an hour of each other and within 12 hours of the initial five people being shot.
Since then, the city has recorded three more homicides.
City Hall and Peoria County are putting thousands of dollars into projects such as Cure Violence to find a way to cool the streets down and to ease tensions.
