MikeQuese T. Taylor, 18, of Peoria, Illinois, was fatally shot and found in an alley behind a Marathon gas station at Forrest Hill and Knoxville Avenues in Peoria’s East Bluff area on April 30, 2024, around 7:30 p.m. Officers responded after nearby officers heard gunfire and a ShotSpotter alert indicated three rounds had been fired. Taylor was a recent Peoria High School graduate and a freshman at Kansas City Kansas Community College who had been visiting his infant son and girlfriend when he was approached and ambushed by two masked males outside his car.

Surveillance footage and witness accounts pointed investigators to a suspect vehicle linked to Messiah Carpenter, 20. Cell phone records and other evidence also implicated Korion Hopkins, 18; both were charged in connection with the killing and were found to have been traveling together in the suspect vehicle. Taylor was a standout basketball player, averaging 10.3 points per game in his first junior college season, and was remembered for leadership, mentoring at local basketball camps, and community involvement. His death was Peoria’s sixth homicide of the year and the fourth involving gunfire.

If anyone knew Taylor or has information about the shooting or the suspect vehicle, please come forward.