Dawson Wayde Reese, 21, of Pekin, Illinois, was killed in a shooting and pronounced dead at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2025, alongside his best friend Chase Rhodes, also 21. Deputies from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office found both men in the 11000 block of Route 29 in South Pekin after responding to a shooting shortly before 5:00 a.m. Autopsies for both were scheduled for April 25, 2025.

Reese graduated from Pekin Community High School in 2022, where he was a four-year starter and team captain of the football team. After attending MTI and graduating in 2023, he worked as a commercial HVAC technician for Daikin in Iowa, specializing in large chillers. He enjoyed outdoor activities such as ATV riding, jet skiing, boating, fishing, mushroom hunting, trap shooting, collecting coins and silver, and playing Texas Hold Em with family and friends. Joint visitation for Dawson and Chase was held April 30, 2025, and Dawson’s funeral was on May 1, 2025, with burial at Lancaster Cemetery in Glasford.

No public details about arrests, suspects, or the circumstances of the shooting have been released. Did anyone in the community know Dawson or have information about the incident on Route 29 that morning?