Police confirmed four people were shot Friday but have not publicly clarified the circumstances, exact scene, possible motive or suspect information.
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Two days after four people were shot and one was killed in the 6800 block of State Street, Illinois State Police have released few details about what led to the gunfire or exactly where it occurred.
State police said the shooting happened about 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at what the agency described as a local nightclub. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while three others were injured. The agency has not publicly identified the victims or provided the conditions of the three people who survived.
The investigation is being handled by the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 Public Safety Enforcement Group, whose agents responded along with East St. Louis police. State police described the investigation Saturday as being in its early stages and said no further information was available.
Among the unanswered questions is the precise location of the shooting. Local reporting identified Club VIP and Da Beno Nite Club with the property at 6830 State St., but a woman who identified herself to the Belleville News-Democrat as the owner said the nightclub was closed while the property was being transitioned into another business.
The woman told the newspaper that the gunfire occurred outside the fence surrounding her property, possibly in the street or a nearby parking lot, and said the incident was not connected to the business. Illinois State Police had not publicly confirmed her account or said whether the shooting occurred inside a building, on private property or elsewhere nearby.
The distinction matters because initial descriptions of the case referred broadly to a nightclub shooting, while information about the status of the business and the exact scene remained unsettled. Police had not released an address beyond the 6800 block or provided a detailed account of where investigators found the victims.
Authorities also had not said whether the shooting followed an argument, involved more than one person firing a weapon or was believed to be targeted. No suspect description had been released, and state police had not announced whether anyone had been detained or arrested in connection with the case.
Other basic information remained unavailable Sunday, including the victims’ ages and genders, their relationships to one another and whether investigators had recovered a firearm. Police also had not publicly said whether surveillance footage or witness accounts were available or whether investigators believed there was any continuing threat connected to the shooting.
The State Street property has operated under nightclub names in the past, including Da Beno Nite Club and Club VIP. Earlier public records and local reporting place those businesses at 6830 State St. That history establishes the property’s prior use but does not establish that the former nightclub was operating when Friday’s shooting occurred.
Illinois State Police remained the lead investigative agency Sunday. Until investigators release additional findings, the identity of the person killed, the medical status of the surviving victims, the circumstances leading to the shooting and whether a suspect has been identified remain unknown.
Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.