Multiple people were shot and wounded in southern Illinois Thursday and three suspects who crashed a getaway vehicle into a passenger train have been arrested, according to reports.
The shooting victims included a man and a woman who were waiting on a bus with their two children at a MetroLink station, reports said.
KMOV4, citing the Illinois State Police, reported that seven people were wounded in all, including a child.
East St. Louis Police Chief Kendall Perry confirmed that “multiple people” were shot.
The shooting occurred outside the East Side Meat Market, Perry said.
Illinois State Police said Thursday night the scene was “still active.”
The shooting suspects tried to out-run a MetroLink train at a nearby crossing and their vehicle was struck, the station said.
Police searched a wooded area for the suspects, who managed to escape the scene, KMOV-TV reported. But three men were located overnight in the basement of a partially demolished building in the 600 block of St. Louis Avenue in East St Louis and were taken into custody, according to FOX2.
East St. Louis is located about 6 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri.
The shooting happened after 4 p.m., Illinois State Police said in a news release. The suspects were arrested at 2:30 a.m. Friday, KMOV4 reported.
Authorities urged the public to avoid the area of the shooting, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
MetroLink was warning of delays of an hour or more in that area. Passengers were being transported by bus shuttles around the two affected stations, said Patti Beck, a communications official with Bi-State Development, which operates MetroLink.
No further information was immediately available.
ArLuther Lee contributed to this report for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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