SHOOTING SUSPECTS SOUGHT

Two Or Three Men Hurt Near Suspected Peoria Drug House

PEORIA - In a neighborhood where residents say they see lots of drug
trafficking, gunshots that injured two men Friday didn't seem too unusual.

In fact, one man munched from a bag of popcorn as he and a dozen others
watched Peoria police scour the snow for blood and footprints outside a
South Side home.

Two suspects still were being sought Friday night.

The victims, who authorities said were not seriously injured, were shot at
2412 W. Howett St., a rental home neighbors described as a drug house.

"This house has the most traffic," said a female neighbor. "People come at
all hours of the night. ... I know they sell drugs all around here, but
they sell the most here."

She refused to give her name.

"If they're gonna shoot people living by me, you don't think they're not
gonna shoot me?" she asked.

Police, too, said they presume the shootings were drug- related.

It was unclear Friday who lives at the address, but police believe one of
the residents is Haakim Owens, who was shot in the stomach.

"From what we gathered, this was sort of a transient house," said police
spokeswoman Ann Ruggles. "A lot of people lived there, but some only for a
week at a time."

Police received the shooting call about 9:40 a.m. When officers arrived,
they found Owens and Phillip Smith, who was bleeding from a gunshot to the
head. Evidence suggested a third man may have been injured but left before
police arrived.

Police said they had not determined how the men knew each other or exactly
why the shooting occurred.

Smith was treated and released from Methodist Medical Center. Owens
underwent surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, but hospital
officials refused to release his condition. Police, however, said his
injury did not appear life-threatening.

The two men being sought as suspects were described as black males - one
about 25 years old, 5-foot-8 inches tall and 135 pounds; the other about 18
years old, 5-foot-9 inches tall and 140 pounds.