ST. LOUIS — Another child was shot Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, marking the eleventh time this year someone under the age of 18 has been a victim of gunfire.
The most recent shooting happened shortly before 1:45 p.m. in the 3500 block of Pennsylvania Ave. in the city's Gravois Park neighborhood.
St. Louis police said the injured child was a girl but have not released any additional information, including the child's age or condition.
The child was driven to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, though it's unclear by whom.
A 5 On Your Side reporter saw at least a dozen shell casings lying in the street in front of a home being canvassed by police detectives.
The shooting scene is located in one of St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden's "rectangles," one of three areas of the city where police concentrate resources to address crime.
A neighbor who witnessed Saturday's shooting said he didn't recognize the shooter and doesn't believe the man lives in the neighborhood.
Of the eleven children shot in 2020, a 14-year-old boy died from his injuries.
Violent Year For Children So Far
The news comes as St. Louis is set to roll out its Cure Violence program in March.
Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed said programs like Cure Violence have shown to help cut down on violent crime in cities like New York, Chicago, and Baltimore to name a few, Reed says he's worried about the program rolling out on time.
David Gilliam lives across the street from Ray Avenue, where a 9-year-old was grazed by a bullet Monday morning.
"Try to move out of the area to keep from it and it just seems like it just follows everybody everywhere," said Gilliam.
Now, Reed and the city are trying to cut down on violent crime, committing $5 million dollars into a Cure Violence program originally set to roll out the beginning of this year.
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"At this point, I'm not completely confident the administration is going to pull this off by March, we should've seen some movement by now," said Reed.
Reed said he's confident a program with some proven success like cure violence will help cut down on shootings in the city.
"We can't afford to sit here and try to create our own thing and hope that it will work, it's not that easy," Reed explained.
With eight children shot in St. Louis in the last three weeks, Reed said there's no time to wait.
"That's not going to get us anywhere, the status quo tells us we are going to have 181 murders every year on the low end if we're doing good right," added Reed.
Reed said the goal of the program is getting more people comfortable helping police and prosecutors do their jobs the right way.
"That's the problem there just people are afraid to step out and let them know I've seen this or seen that, well do something about it," added Gilliam.
Mayor Krewson's office added that they understand people are anxious to see a program like this rolled out, but it shouldn't be rushed because they want to get it right.
The Cut Short Project
"CUT SHORT: Unsolved Killings of St. Louis Children" is an initiative of KSDK 5 On Your Side and its community outreach program, "Project 5," to raise awareness of the unchecked violence against children in the city of St. Louis from the summer of 2019 to present.
We're dedicated to telling their stories, following criminal investigations and shining a light on the reasons for gun violence in our city. We won't let up.
Please join us in this important campaign seeking justice for our youth by sharing these stories about their young lives cut short, reaching out to elected officials and supporting the worthy organizations in St. Louis working to make our city's neighborhoods safer places to raise families.