‘It will not keep this city down’: 2 teens arrested after 5 killed in East St. Louis ‘targeted mass shooting’ 

Five people are dead and two others are hospitalized after what authorities are calling a “targeted mass shooting” in East St. Louis on Sunday.

Illinois State Police took two teenage suspects, ages 15 and 16, into custody. One of the teens is related to the victims, and authorities said the attack targeted members of the same family.

The violence unfolded across three separate crime scenes: Jones Park, the Gompers public housing complex and a residence near 39th Street and Summit Avenue. Two survivors remain in serious condition at a St. Louis hospital after being shot at the park.

ISP Director Brendan Kelly released the names and ages of the five people killed:

• Cherie L. May, 49

• Devin D. May, 24

• Patricia A. May, 74

• Quentin L. Thompson, 21

• Shania W. Thompson, 25

State police tracked the suspects’ vehicle and stopped it in Frank Holten State Park. The teens remain in custody while formal charges are pending as investigators work with the state’s attorney’s office.

“There are undoubtedly specific limitations and rules that the state of Illinois, and that’s pretty common across the country, that you have when law enforcement has to investigate and interact with a juvenile,” Kelly said. “There are certain circumstances in which the nature of the offenses that are involved, the laws related to adults and how adults are prosecuted; those could apply to a juvenile under certain circumstances.”

The shooting comes as violence has been trending downward in a city historically plagued by high crime rates. East St. Louis has appeared on national top-10 lists for violent crime, but recent state initiatives have shown progress.

ISP announced earlier this year that East St. Louis recorded its fewest homicides in at least 45 years. Agency data showed homicides dropped 56% between 2020 and 2025, driven largely by the Public Safety Enforcement Group, an urban policing model established in 2020. Additionally, The FBI and ISP left no murders unsolved in the city last year.

The decline marks a significant improvement from 2019, when East St. Louis had a homicide rate roughly 28 times the national average.

State police conducted a two-day violent crime suppression operation in the Metro East area just days before the shooting. The July 8-9 operation focused heavily on East St. Louis, resulting in 13 arrests, 18 criminal charges and the seizure of seven firearms.

“The community of East St. Louis has worked very hard with the Illinois State Police, with our partners, and the City of East St. Louis Police to reduce violence, to stop violence here in this community,” Kelly said. “They’ve come a long way, working together with law enforcement, working with our partners in the community, and I just want to say that these alleged acts of horrific violence, taking this number of lives here in this community – it’s terrible. It’s evil, but it will not keep this city down. The progress we’ve made will not be lost as a result of this terrible, terrible act of violence that has occurred in this community today.”