Illinois State Police investigate gunfire and house fire incident

BENTON, Ill. (KBSI) – Authorities say what began as a gunfire call quickly turned into a deadly fire investigation. One neighbor says a bullet went straight through her front door. 

“I was sitting on my love seat watching TV with my son here, and we heard this loud explosion is what it sounded like and I was just kind of stunned, like, what just happened? And I look over and I notice my entire door is just shattered. It’s still in one piece, but it’s completely shattered. That’s when it clicked that it was gunshots. So, I immediately got my kids and got them to the back bedroom called 911” says Keshia Johnson.

 According to the Benton Police Department they responded to a report of a gunshot hitting a house around 11:26 pm on North tenth street in Benton, the homeowner is Keshia Johnson. After arrival they found the house across the street from Johnson’s was on fire. 

“As the fire worsened inside the residence, there was live ammunition rounds going off” says Johnson. 

Johnson shares that a bullet entered her home smashing her glass window, narrowly missing where her and her children were sitting in her living room, went through a wall and struck a kitchen window. According to Johnson and other neighbors they then heard what sounded like fireworks going off and were evacuated from their homes for safety.  

“And I honestly, I just stood there and I didn’t know what to do” says Johnson. “It actually took his father screaming at me to get me to come back like he yelled “You got to get these kids in the bedroom. There’s somebody shooting at us!” 

The Benton Police Department says after the Benton fire department was able to gain access into the home, they found the homeowner deceased, with multiple firearms near him.  

“Once all the live ammunition started going off, it was like that house was lit up like the 4th of July” says Johnson. “The fire department couldn’t get in there and get the fire extinguished until all the live ammunition stopped going off. So, it was just kind of like you just sit back and take cover and wait.” 

Illinois State Police are now investigating. FOX 23 will bring more updates on the incident as they come.