Two teenagers were arrested Sunday after a shooting rampage across East St Louis killed five members of the same family and wounded two others, state police said. The 15- and 16-year-old suspects were apprehended at Holten State Park, a recreation area east of the city, but have not yet been formally charged.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly confirmed at a Sunday news conference that at least one suspect is related to at least one victim, though authorities declined to elaborate. The violence unfolded across three locations throughout East St Louis. Kelly characterized the shooting as "targeted" and described the killings as "horrible" and "evil," but pledged that they would not break the community's spirit.
The five slain family members were identified as Cherie L May, 49; Devin D May, 24; Patricia A May, 74; Quentin L Thompson, 21; and Shania W Thompson, 25. Two wounded victims were transported to a hospital in neighboring St Louis, Missouri. Kelly noted that no bystanders were caught in the crossfire.
Police have not disclosed how the teenagers obtained firearms. The director acknowledged that while multiple-victim shootings have occurred in Illinois history, such events remain "very rare."
A pattern of family violence
The East St Louis killings represent what criminologists call a family annihilation: typically a mass murder targeting multiple close relatives. While long treated as isolated incidents by American communities, a 2023 investigation found such crimes occurring across the country every five days on average.
The Gun Violence Archive reports the East St Louis shooting is at least the 12th mass murder in the United States so far in 2026, with at least seven falling into the family annihilation category. The same data source has tracked more than 240 mass shooting incidents across the country this year, where four or more people were either killed or injured.
The relentless pace of mass shootings has intensified calls from lawmakers and gun safety advocates for stronger federal restrictions. Congress has not enacted comprehensive new gun control measures despite the ongoing crisis.
Illinois enforces some of the nation's strictest state-level gun laws, requiring firearm buyers to obtain a firearm identification card. However, East St Louis sits on the border with Missouri, which imposes no permit requirements for purchase or carry, maintains no licensing system, and does not regulate private firearm transfers or storage. Missouri also does not criminalize minors from possessing guns, though selling firearms to minors without parental consent remains illegal.
Author James Rodriguez: "Five family members dead on a Sunday, two more wounded, and we're still waiting for charges to be filed while one state's lax gun laws sit just across an invisible line."
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