Peoria, IL – Peoria police arrested three men in connection with an alleged hate crime involving the theft and burning of pride flags.
According to the Peoria Police Department, officers responded on Sunday to reports of pride flags stolen overnight from homes around Columbia Terrace and Glenwood. Surveillance footage reportedly captured the suspects during the thefts.
On Thursday at approximately 10:49 p.m., a caller reported seeing three males burning a flag in the 1000 block of North Glenwood. When officers arrived, they reportedly found remnants of a charred multicolored flag in the street. Witnesses stated that the suspects had stolen the flag from a nearby yard, set it on fire, and then fled on foot toward Columbia Terrace.
Officers from the Violence Reduction Task Force quickly saturated the area, apprehending one suspect in the 2000 block of West Laura. A drone and K-9 unit were deployed to track the remaining suspects, who were later found and arrested in the 2000 block of West Sherman.
Andrew D. Gohring, 19, Noah M. Gohring, 21, and Nathaniel E. Sheppard, 18, were charged with hate crime, criminal damage to property, and theft.
