On the evening of August 26, 2023, 21-year-old Mason Maso Robert Ray Loy was found dead in the parking lot of Laramie Liquors in Peoria, Illinois. Responding officers arrived after reports of a man down at 9:09 p.m. and discovered Loy with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Surveillance footage showed a large, heavyset white male with long hair exit a vehicle, approach Loy without provocation, and fire multiple shots before fleeing.

The suspect was identified as 17-year-old Jared R. Williams and was apprehended on August 28 in an apartment in Normal, Illinois, where a handgun was recovered. Preliminary testing indicated the firearm matched shell casings from the scene. Williams was charged with first-degree murder and, despite being a juvenile, was being tried as an adult; bond was set at $1.5 million.

Mason was born August 8, 2002, in Peoria to Jason and Camilla Stanley Loy. He was the youngest brother to Christopher and Caleb Walker, father to Nova-Grace Annette Loy, and grandson to Bud and Nancy Loy, Mike and Cathy Clayton, and Rick and Darlene Vanderheydt. He had worked at Caterpillar until April 2023 and recently started at Rivian. A visitation was held September 5, 2023, with funeral and burial at Parkview Cemetery and a celebration of life on September 8 at the Peoria Heights VFW. Anyone who knew Mason or has information about the shooting is asked to come forward.