ST. LOUIS — Several of the eleven survivors from Sunday’s mass shooting inside an office building downtown were too injured to talk to police, but those who did gave conflicting accounts of what led up to the violence.
In all, 11 teens were shot.
One of them, 17-year-old Makao Moore of north St. Louis County, was killed.
Another 17-year-old told police she was trampled in the “stampede” that followed the shooting and suffered a spinal injury, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The victims range in age from 15 to 19 years old. Seven have home addresses in St. Louis. The rest are from north St. Louis County and municipalities such as Ferguson, University City, Glasgow Village and Castle Point.
Police sources tell 5 On Your Side the survivors told them the party had been advertised on social media for at least a week with messages telling partygoers no guns or purses would be allowed.
But, as the night went on, some of the survivors said people started coming in with bags.
Police arrested a 17-year-old from St. Ann shortly after the shooting. Sources familiar with the investigation tell 5 On Your Side he was carrying a pistol and officers found three AR-15 rifles where he was hiding.
A judge will have to determine whether to charge the teen as an adult for the crimes, so he is not yet being identified by name.
Some of the survivors estimated there were between 40 and 70 teens inside when gunfire began.
A few of the victims told police a group of armed men dressed in all black wearing ski masks came in and started shooting. Others told police two groups of people started arguing and some of them wanted to take the confrontation outside, but opened fire on each other inside instead.
Some of the teens who attended told police the gathering was a birthday party. Others said it was a graduation party.
How the teens gained entry to the building, which is home to a variety of businesses, including a home health care company, nail and hair salons and tutoring services, is still under investigation.
The building advertises short-term leases online, but some businesses have been there for years.
A woman who did not want to be named told 5 On Your Side she’s had a business at the building in the 1400 block of Washington Avenue for eight years. She has seen the main entrance propped open numerous times on weekends, so she's not surprised the teens gained entry.
She said the location is generally peaceful, and she’s only called the police once when she believed two men were trying to steal her car.
A review of the calls for service to the address show police have been called there 12 times in the past year, mostly for minor issues including noise ordinance violations, suspicious people and car accidents.
When officers arrived at Sunday’s shooting, they found bloody clothes, bags of food, wine bottles, liquor bottles and cigarette and cigar packages in the office area and common kitchen area.
Some of the shooting victims were dropped off at pediatric hospitals by friends after the gunfire subsided.
The teen who was killed was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:23 a.m.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 866-371-TIPS.