ST. LOUIS — Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis released a statement late Sunday evening in response to recent violence in downtown St. Louis. The statement addresses gun violence downtown that happened in the span of a week, May 26 through June 2.
Les Sterman leads the organization with several others including Dan Pistor with the Downtown Neighborhood Association. The two told 5 On Your Side, "Recent events in downtown St. Louis demonstrate that it will take more than press conferences, slogans, orchestrated special events or fixing a couple of vacant buildings to address the deteriorating quality of life in our neighborhood."
In the statement, the group is directly calling on a response from city officials when it comes to solving the issue--gun violence.
"This is a five-alarm crisis that demands immediate action, not press conferences. The questionable 'crime is down' narrative provides no comfort when confronted with this level of violence. The increased police presence that has been promised for years has been sporadic, particularly during nighttime hours when most crime occurs. For several years, we have been calling for a truly collaborative effort of residents, businesses, law enforcement and civic groups to come up with a real plan (full disclosure: we have worked with business and resident groups to produce such a plan and gotten no response from city officials) and go to work together to fix this problem. Instead, we have gotten showy public announcements, political posturing, slogans, and soon forgotten promises. It’s past time to put ego and politics aside and come together to save our neighborhood," Sterman said.
On Sunday, seven people were shot just around 10 p.m. Sunday on Kossuth and East Prairie avenues in north St. Louis. Police said it happened outside a night club, across the street from Fairground Park. The victims ranged from 24 to 54 years old. Monday morning, details were limited, but two of the victims were listed in serious condition.
The weekend shootings continued near downtown St. Louis on Sunday morning when a 51-year-old Branson man was shot and killed on Washington Avenue. On Saturday, three men were shot near the Broadway Oyster Bar.
Chief Robert Tracy held a news conference on Monday afternoon. He said since Friday, there were 10 shootings throughout St. Louis City involving 17 victims, and three deaths. Their department recovered 36 guns.
Tracy said, "We are prepared for the summer. Patrols have increased in the city, including downtown with the departments overtime and secondary shift throughout the city."
He added that crime is down along with their staffing levels.
Right now, there are 908 police officers, including the trainees in the academy. The ideal number would be at 1,220.
Tracy explained there is a public safety strategy in place.
"We do have a good plan in place, we are down officers throughout the city, so I fairly distribute throughout the city because I can't put them in one place," he added.
He acknowledged, though, there is a long road ahead.
"There is progress, I think it's being left out of that (letter), crime is down, but we have a long way to go. I'm with them, I'm not denying that," Tracy shared.
5 On Your Side reached out to Mayor Tishaura Jones spokesperson for a request to comment on the letter.
Jones shared this statement:
"Crime is down in St. Louis, but it is not where we want it. That’s why improving our city’s public safety remains my top priority, and we refuse to let up on our efforts to continue to reduce it even further. In January 2023, I appointed a new, visionary police chief. As the new head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Chief Tracy immediately got results, achieving the City’s largest year-over-year reduction in crime in 90 years and fewest homicides in a decade,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “Last year was also the first full year in action for the Office of Violence Prevention, which I created in 2022 to stop violence before it even occurs. And about a year ago, the City of St. Louis got a new circuit attorney who has cleaned up that office and is making sure that offenders caught by our police department are actually prosecuted. Meanwhile, we are working hard to attract more police officers to the SLMPD, and I’m pleased to say that just this year, we’ve already seen several former SLMPD officers return after previously leaving to work for other departments. We are headed in the right direction now, and we have to stay the course to make sure we reach our goal, which is a St. Louis where everyone feels safe.”
Police are asking anyone with information about this weekend's shootings to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS and you can remain anonymous.
Read Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis' full statement below:
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