UPDATED: Two dead in South Pekin shooting; suspect arrested

Posted on April 24, 2025
The case remains under investigation. (Photo courtesy: Flicker/File)

SOUTH PEKIN (WMBD) — Two people are dead and one person is in custody after an early Thursday morning double shooting in South Pekin.

Dispatchers were notified about the double shooting off South Illinois Route 29 shortly after 4:44 a.m., said Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower.

Two people were found dead at a residence which was in the 11300 block of Route 29. That’s just south of the Pekin Municipal Airport and near the Pekin Riding Club. A person was taken into custody, the sheriff said.

The sheriff’s office is leading the investigation with assistance from the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services and the Tazewell County Coroner’s Office, Lower said.

Additional details will be released as they become available. No further information is being released at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…