A stroll through the neighborhood turned into a crime scene Monday evening in St. Louis' Benton Park West neighborhood.
A man and his dog were out walking through the Benton Park West neighborhood at around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Police said when they got to the alley between Nebraska and Oregon Avenues, two suspects approached them. One of the suspects shot the man in his chest.
"It touched his lung cavity and then went up to his arm," said Liz Gerard, who heard about the shooting on NextDoor, a social network for neighbors.
"I thought nothing of it," Gerard said. "Having stayed in that area, you kind of become numb to the amount of gunshots."
Then, she learned the 27-year-old is her former roommate and friend.
"We came to the ER," she said. "At that point, he was critical but stable."
Gerard also learned the suspects didn't even try to steal anything from him. In fact, police call this a shooting, not an attempted robbery.
"It was [a] senseless act of violence," Gerard said.
Some neighbors agreed and said streets in the area of the shooting could use more patrol officers and alleys could use more lights.
"It's really concerning," neighbor Dustin Coleman said. "There's like two lights in my alley and there's black spots that could easily, people hide, run from the cops."
Alderman Dan Guenther said he allocated $25,000 of ward capital improvement funds to install 125 new lights throughout the ward. Installation should happen in the next couple weeks.
"I've lived down here 10 years, love the neighborhood, but with that one exception of the gunshots and some people getting killed and sent to the hospital, that's very alarming," Coleman said. "I think definitely much lighting back there would be great."
Benton Park West Neighborhood Association leaders said they have monthly meetings where they remind neighbors to be aware of their surroundings. They also encourage everyone to have surveillance cameras in front of their homes and alleys.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to support the victim.
