Multiple victims were reported shot in southern Illinois late Thursday afternoon and three suspects who crashed their getaway vehicle into a passenger train remained on the loose, authorities said.

       The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office said the suspects shot multiple people in East St. Louis, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many, KMOV-TV reported. East St. Louis is located about 10 kilometers east of St. Louis, Missouri.

       The shooting suspects tried to out-run a MetroLink train at a nearby crossing and their vehicle was struck, the station said. Police were searching for the suspects in a wooded area.

       The shooting happened after 4 p.m., Illinois State Police said in a news release.

       The public was asked to avoid the area of the shooting, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

       MetroLink was warning of delays of an hour or more in that area. Passengers were being transported by bus shuttles around the two affected stations, said Patti Beck, a communications official with Bi-State Development, which operates MetroLink.

       No further information was immediately available.

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