ST. LOUIS — A violent Fourth of July weekend continued overnight in downtown St. Louis.
Police say two armed teens were arrested near Citygarden, nearly a day after seven people were shot in the same location.
The streets of downtown St. Louis were packed on Saturday night with fans of the classic rock bands Def Leppard and Journey. It comes hours after police had to break up a large gathering of young people for the second night in a row.
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Police broke up the gathering near Chestnut Street and N 8th Street, nearly a day after seven people were shot downtown following Fourth of July fireworks. Officers responding to a number of young adults blocking traffic and brandishing firearms at the same area.
St. Louis Metro police say two weapons were seized from an 18-year-old Belleville man and an 18-year-old Hazelwood man, both taken into custody along with a 17-year-old armed with an airsoft gun. He was later turned over to his mother.
A frustrating turn of events for people who live nearby like Dan Pistor, chair of the St. Louis Downtown Neighborhood Association.
"We weren't prepared for what happened after the fireworks," Pistor told 5 On Your Side's Annie Krall. "We weren't prepared to disperse the crowd. We allowed large gatherings of kids to shoot fireworks at people intending to do harm."
Pistor remembers a similarly violent holiday weekend last year. Fireworks going off in porta-potties downtown and juveniles taking unauthorized rides on lifts down Market Street.
"It would have been nice if we didn't have the police numbers that we could have contracted with some of the outlying cities and counties to see if we can supplement more of a force to disperse the crowd," Pistor said.
While the question remains for Pistor whether or not to bring in the National Guard or State Troopers to help an understaffed police department, officers were on scene Saturday night for the Def Leppard, Journey and Cheap Trick concert at Busch Stadium.
Pistor attended the concert along with some fans visiting St. Louis for the first time.
"They are huge names and they're from our high school and college years," Kelli Swisher from Galena, IL said heading into the venue. "We know all the words to all the songs."
Swisher's friend Kathy Toth hadn't been to the city before but coming from Crystal Lake, IL "I actually listened to the CD on the way down so I could sing the songs and remember the words," Toth said.
"I've been listening to Def Leppard, Journey, that kind of stuff all growing up," Kaitlin Rose said hours before the performance. Rose will be heading off to Stephens College in Columbia this fall. "It was a good opportunity. I'm about to go off to college so it's a good experience for me with my family before I leave them."
Off in the distance just blocks from Busch Stadium, the shot and boarded up windows of the last two days at the Peabody Coal Building were not worrying concert-goers.
"We're from the Chicago area, no worries," Toth said. "Been there done that."
"We're not concerned," Swisher added.
Rose's boyfriend Kaiden Doebelin said, "we feel comfortable." The young couple visiting from Mexico, MO agreed "I feel like we're safe here at the stadium," Rose said.
The Neighborhood Association is hosting a public town hall meeting on Monday at 6:00 p.m. hosted at Central Public Library. The gathering is expected to include appearances by circuit attorney Gabe Gore and St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy to discuss this week's gun violence.