In the early hours of July 13, 2025, 21-year-old Malcolm D. Woodhouse-Alexander, a male from Alton, was found shot multiple times in the parking lot of 3rd Chute II Bar & Grill on Fosterburg Road, just outside Alton. Deputies from the Madison County Sheriff's Office and Alton Police officers responded to calls that began around 1:05 a.m.; when they arrived, Malcolm D. Woodhouse-Alexander showed no signs of life and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators quickly identified the confrontation as stemming from a dispute that had unfolded at the bar that night.
Detectives learned that Malcolm D. Woodhouse-Alexander, 21, and 24-year-old Joseph A. Torres II, of Godfrey, knew each other and had argued repeatedly throughout the night, with the dispute turning physical more than once. Shortly after midnight, around 12:15 a.m., Torres fired a “warning shot” into the air during an earlier flare-up before leaving and then returning near 1 a.m. A fresh altercation broke out inside the bar; both men were escorted out, and the confrontation shifted to the parking lot.
Outside, after being escorted from the bar, Torres went to his vehicle. When Malcolm D. Woodhouse-Alexander, 21, approached, Torres opened fire, striking him multiple times—four shots, according to investigators. Torres did not flee; he stayed at the scene and later admitted to the shooting during police questioning. Deputies took him into custody without incident.
Authorities announced arrests and charges swiftly. On July 14, 2025, prosecutors charged Joseph A. Torres II with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm. A Madison County grand jury later returned an indictment on the same counts. Torres remained in custody, and officials emphasized that charges are allegations until proven in court. Investigators from the Madison County Sheriff's Department led the case with assistance from Illinois State Police and the Coroner's Office; no additional suspects were publicly sought.
The victim, Malcolm D. Woodhouse-Alexander, 21, was memorialized locally as one of several people lost to gun violence in Alton in 2025, marking a devastating end to a night that began as a simmering argument and escalated into fatal gunfire outside a neighborhood bar.
