EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (KSDK) - The East St. Louis Police Department is investigating what's being called the first homicide of the new year.

The murder took place around 7 p.m. in the 500 block of N. 13th, near State Street.

Witnesses told police they were barbecuing outside a boarding house in that location when a man walked up to one of the people at the barbecue and opened fire. The shooter ran off, jumped into a vehicle and sped away from the scene.

The victim, an East St. Louis man in his 30s, was taken to a local hospital where he died.

Police are looking for a woman who was with the victim prior to the shooting. She left the scene before police arrived.

KSDK