Peoria Police searching for suspect in slayings of 2 women

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Police in Peoria were searching for a man suspected in the shooting deaths of two women in separate incidents early Saturday.

According to the (Peoria) Journal Star, one of the women was shot at 2:01 a.m. in the 2000 block of Southwest Adams Street. A man who was shot in the same incident was taken to an area hospital with what police said in a news release were non-life-threatening injuries.

Less than two hours later, another woman was fatally shot in the 500 block of West Martin Luther King Drive.

Police said an arrest warrant was issued Saturday afternoon for Robert A. White, 27. of Peoria. They said he is considered armed and dangerous.

The killings were the first of the year in Peoria. They came just hours into the new year after 2021 ended with 34 homicides - the most in the city's history. The previous record for homicides was 25, set in 2019.