Peoria Standard

A 15-year-old male has been charged with aggravated battery with a firearm following a shooting incident on Sunday night in Peoria, Illinois, which resulted in injuries to a 9-year-old boy. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert around 8:30 pm in the 1300 block of SW Phoenix in South Peoria and found the young victim with a gunshot wound to the chest. Officers administered life-saving measures before transporting him to the hospital, where he was reported stable.

Witnesses reported hearing noises outside their home and observed three individuals attempting to break into a vehicle. When confronted by one of the witnesses, the group fled. However, one individual, identified as the defendant, allegedly fired a shot while fleeing, striking the child who was inside his home. Surveillance footage captured the incident and showed that the shooter appeared to be wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor.

Upon reviewing tracking data from the ankle monitor, authorities confirmed its presence at the scene during the shooting. The defendant had been wearing this device due to an ongoing case for which he was previously granted home confinement and electronic monitoring instead of detention.

The office has filed a petition seeking to transfer this case to adult court. Meanwhile, the defendant remains at Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center and faces additional charges of attempted burglary.

The investigation is still underway. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Peoria Police Department at 309-673-4521.