PEORIA, Ill. – Family and friends of a Peoria teenager who was shot and killed this past weekend was honored Monday night at the school where he excelled.
Late Saturday night, 17-year-old Matthew Day was shot twice at the Lexington Hills Apartments. Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood says Day was taken to OSF Saint Francis in grave condition, and pronounced dead just after midnight on Sunday.
An autopsy shows Day suffered two gunshot wounds to his torso and likely died instantly.
Family and friends of Day say he would visit relatives at Lexington Hills often. His stepfather, Darvin Banks, spoke with 25 News at a vigil in front of Peoria Manual High School.
“He was a good kid, I swear,” Banks said. “He was fun loving, I’m telling you. This should have never happened to him, but he was great.”
Day was an honor student at Manual, played on the football team, and was a member of the swim team. People in attendance held candles and released star-shaped balloons in honor of Day.
Day’s cousin, Ciara Simmons, says there’s been a lot of grief in the family as of late.
“It’s terrible, it’s heartbreaking, it’s devastating,” Simmons said. “It’s a very hard burden on each and every one of us out here, especially his mother. His mother just lost her father a day before [Day] was killed.”
The investigation into the shooting continues by Peoria Police. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Scott Hulse at (309) 494-8391, anonymously to Tip411, or Crime Stoppers.
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