EAST ST. LOUIS – The Office of the St. Clair County State’s Attorney, James Gomric, Friday night announced three men have been charged in the East St. Louis shooting. Charged are Lorenzo W. Bruce Jr., a 32-year-old-male from Madison, IL., Cartez R. Beard, a 30-year-old male from Cahokia, IL., and Deangelo M. Higgs, a 35-year-old-male from East St. Louis, IL., each with one count of Felon in Possession of a Weapon (Class 3 Felony), and seven counts of Aggravated Battery / Discharge of a Firearm (Class X Felony).
At 4 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2021, Illinois State Police District 11 Troopers responded to a shooting near Martin Luther King (MLK) Drive and Sixth Street in East St. Louis. Immediately following the shooting, a 3-year-old male juvenile of East St. Louis, was taken to the East St. Louis Police Department by his guardian. Once there, four agents from the ISP Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) transported him to an area hospital while performing life-saving measures along the way.
Responding police officers were notified of additional shooting victims in the area of MLK and Sixth Street including one victim who was involved in a collision with a MetroLink train at the MLK Drive MetroLink crossing. The driver of that victim’s vehicle, a 25-year-old male of East St. Louis, was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While the train was occupied at the time of the collision, there were no passenger injuries reported on the train.
Five additional adult victims including a 49-year-old male of Belleville, a 24-year-old male of East St. Louis, a 53-year-old male of East St. Louis, a 53-year-old male of Belleville, and a 38-year-old female of St. Louis, were transported by ambulances to area hospitals. The conditions of the victims are unknown at this time. In summary, seven victims, including one juvenile victim, sustained gunshot wounds.
Witnesses reported seeing three men fleeing the scene with weapons. Within minutes, a perimeter was established in the area by the East St. Louis Police Department, ISP, and multiple local police agencies. The ISP Tactical Response Team (TRT) responded to the area and searched for the three suspected shooters. In less than an hour, ISP Air Operations, along with a helicopter from Metro Air Support, were in the air assisting the search. Drones from surrounding public safety agencies were also utilized in the search.
At approximately 2:30 am. on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, three suspects were located by ISP TRT in the basement of a partially demolished building in the 600 block of St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. Bruce Jr., Beard, and Higgs were safely taken into custody.
Bond was set by St. Clair County Judge John O’Gara at $950,000, 10% applies for each.
“The response to this shooting is an example of the Illinois State Police bringing to bear all resources at its disposal to bring justice to this community,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “PSEG, Patrol, SWAT, Air Ops, and all ISP personnel again demonstrated our ongoing commitment to protecting the people of East St. Louis.”
Assisting agencies included ISP TRT, ISP Air Operations, District 11 Patrol, ISP Division of Criminal Investigation – Zone 6, ISP PSEG, ISP Crisis Negotiations Team, ISP Crime Scene Services, U.S. Marshal Service, Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS), St. Clair and Madison County Sheriff’s Offices, East St. Louis Police Department, numerous other local law enforcement agencies, and the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office.
No further information is available at this time. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to please call CRIMESTOPPERS at 866-371-8477 (tips).
