Eddie Freeman

Cahokia Heights police say they have no leads in their investigation after a paralyzed man was gunned down in his bed last week. Eddie Freeman was shot multiple times on the evening of Oct. 10 at his home in the 600 block of West Avenue in Cahokia Heights. Freeman, 50, died later at a hospital in St. Louis, according to the St. Louis medical examiner's office. Freeman was paralyzed in a shooting in 2020 in St. Louis County. Freeman was riding in a van with his daughter when the daughter's ex-boyfriend fired shots at her fleeing van. Freeman was hit several times and paralyzed. A St. Louis County judge sentenced Chicory Griffin of Bellefontaine Neighbors to two life prison terms for the attack. At Griffin's sentencing hearing in December 2021 at the courthouse in Clayton, Freeman testified that he could not play with his grandchildren or use the bathroom unassisted. Ever since his injury, Freeman used a wheelchair, Cahokia Heights police said. A woman lived with him as his caregiver. About 7 p.m. Oct. 10, the caregiver heard a knock at the door and asked who it was. The man at the door used the name of a relative of a neighborhood friend, and the caregiver asked Freeman if it was okay to let the person in. Freeman said yes. The man entered the home, went to the bedroom and fatally shot Freeman, then ran off, police said. The caregiver was unharmed.