CLINTON COUNTY, Ill. – Friends of Alexi Maki, 24, are devastated over her loss. The New Baden resident was known for her kindness, positive personality, and love of animals. 

Maki was shot and killed on Saturday. Emmet Metzger is charged with murder.  

Neighbors described him as Maki’s boyfriend. After the shooting, he allegedly walked across the street to turn himself in at the New Baden Police Department.  

On Tuesday, a bouquet of flowers sat outside the apartment on East Hanover Street near the scene of the shooting. New Baden resident Tracy Gallamore placed them there.   

“It’s a terrible, terrible loss,” she said. “We all care. We all do.”

The visitation and funeral for Maki will be held Saturday. According to her family, memorials can be made to the Humane Society.   

Friends say Maki tended bars and was on a path to graduate from a radiology program.  

Gallamore said the loss of Maki is being felt throughout the entire New Baden community. Some residents said the shooting prompted them to talk with their loved ones about how much life matters.  

“We’re a very small town, and we come together for everything,” said Gallamore.  “It’s been gut-wrenching. It really has.”