The man suspected in a double homicide in Belleville Sunday has been taken into custody, Belleville police said.
Multiple police agencies embarked on the manhunt after a vehicle crashed into a home in the 100 block of South Eighth Street, resulting in a fire and the deaths of two people, shortly after 9 a.m.
One juvenile was rescued from the burning building, according to Belleville police. The victims, whose names have not been released, were identified only as an adult female and a juvenile female.
“Officers have reason to believe (the) actions were intentional,” Belleville police stated in a release. “This is being investigated as a double homicide.”
Belleville police issued a Code Red alert asking residents near Citizens Park to stay in their homes and lock their doors until the suspect, believed to be armed with a machete, could be taken into custody.
According to police, he fled the scene on foot and was later spotted by law enforcement entering a wooded area near the railroad tracks off South 29th Street, near Otto Drive.
Police dispatch received a call reporting the suspect was possibly sighted near the Dollar Tree, at 5831 Belleville Crossing. Police arrived within seconds of the report and took the person of interest into custody, according to a release issued by police late Sunday afternoon.
The suspect will be held at Belleville Police Department pending further investigation. Belleville Police are not currently seeking any additional suspects in this case.
“We’re confident we have the person responsible in custody,” said Belleville Police Lt. Col. Mark Heffernan. “The investigation is ongoing, however, and we’ll be presenting a case to the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office.”
An earlier report that the man was spotted inside a Main Street restaurant “waving that machete around” was not verified by police.
The Belleville News-Democrat does not publish the name of crime suspects until charges are filed. The victims’ names have not been released.
The homicide occurred about 9:15 a.m. in the 100 block of South Eighth Street. Police tape encircles the property and a vehicle was still embedded in front where it struck the two-story structure. The vehicle was partially hidden behind a tarp.
The house is heavily damaged by a fire that followed the collision.
Fire crews have left the scene, but investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies, including Belleville police and Illinois State Police, remained into Sunday afternoon. The entire street was blocked to traffic.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified said the incident began with a crash.
“I heard it, I didn’t see it,” she said. “I heard a big crash, but didn’t think nothing of it until I heard all the firetrucks.”
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