2 people killed, 8 hurt in Peoria shootings

Two people were killed and eight were injured in a spate of separate shootings in Peoria, Ill., overnight Wednesday and Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press.

“There’s a war on the streets right now, and people have decided they’re going to take justice into their hands and commit these crimes we’re seeing,” Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria said at a press conference Thursday, the AP reported.

In the first shooting Wednesday night in Peoria, six people were injured, two critically. Two men were killed and another shot Thursday morning in a pair of shootings that police believe are related.

“People need to start speaking up. People need to start sharing information,” Echevarria said. “People know what happened. They know exactly what happened.”

Police did not disclose the circumstances of the three shootings or information about possible suspects, the AP reported.

There have been six shootings in the city since Saturday, a rise in gun violence that forced five local schools to cancel after-school activities Thursday.

Two more people were killed in shootings Saturday and another person injured in a shooting Tuesday.

The Wednesday night shooting is the 478th mass shooting in the country so far this year, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.