Matthew C. Smith Jr., an 18-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was shot on Thanksgiving morning, November 25, 2021, and pronounced dead at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Emergency Room at 11:35 a.m. Police were dispatched to the 300 block of East Thrush Avenue at 11:06 a.m. after a ShotSpotter alert recorded five shots in the area. The Peoria County Coroner, Jamie Harwood, determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest that likely caused instant death.

Matthew was born September 24, 2003, and was the son of Matthew C. Smith Sr. and Valerie Moore. The fatal shooting was ruled a homicide and was the city’s 33rd homicide for 2021. Investigators identified a suspect, 24-year-old Martarius J. McGee, described as 6 feet 1 inch, about 140 pounds, with long black hair with blonde tips and brown eyes. McGee turned himself in on November 27, 2021, and was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.

The Peoria Police Department asks anyone with information to contact authorities. Did anyone in the neighborhood see or hear anything that morning?