Shortly before midnight on Sunday, September 10, 2023, gunfire broke out inside the Samuel Gompers Homes on North Sixth Street in East St. Louis. Three people were struck; 29-year-old Deontus A. Gilmore of East St. Louis was mortally wounded and pronounced dead at 12:53 a.m., the St. Clair County coroner identifying him. Two other victims survived, one taken by ambulance and another who drove themself to a hospital. Investigators documented clusters of shell casings across the housing complex’s interior courtyards and parking areas.

Within forty-eight hours detectives had made an arrest. On September 12, 2023, prosecutors charged 43-year-old Anthony L. Ayers of Washington Park with first-degree murder in the killing of Deontus A. Gilmore, plus unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and threatening a public official; bond was set at $2,000,000. Authorities asked anyone who had been near North Sixth Street just before midnight to provide tips. Does anyone have information about movements near the Samuel Gompers Homes that night?