Victim in fatal CherryVale shooting identified
ROCKFORD — The victim in the fatal shooting in the CherryVale Mall parking lot Friday was a DeKalb resident, police reported Saturday.
Ricky Smith, 31, was shot in what Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana described as a “drive-behind.” The sheriff said Smith was shot at around 4 p.m., from an SUV traveling behind his car. Cherry Valley police found Smith inside his vehicle parked on the south side of the parking lot near the Schnucks grocery store.
An autopsy is currently pending.
No suspect information has been released. The shooting is under investigation by the Cherry Valley Police Department.
Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department detective’s bureau at 815-319-6000 or Rockford Area Crime Stoppers at 815-963-7867. R.