Just before dawn on May 9, 2022, a Peoria resident flagged down a police officer about a man lying in an alley off East Behrends Avenue near North Maryland Avenue in the East Bluff neighborhood. Officers found 31-year-old Michael Anthony Jones Jr. with obvious trauma, attempted life-saving measures, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy later determined Jones suffered a single gunshot wound to the upper body and listed the manner of death as homicide. Detectives opened a homicide investigation and canvassed the neighborhood, asking the public for information. Early statements did not include suspect details, and authorities have not announced an arrest or identified a suspect.

If anyone has information about the early morning shooting in the East Bluff alley, please come forward.