ST. LOUIS — Missouri State Highway Patrol will be on the interstates in St. Louis on Tuesday, part of the state's new effort to help the city crack down on violent crime.
It comes after a violent summer where more than a dozen children were shot and killed in St. Louis.
In a plan announced a few weeks ago, Missouri State Highway Patrol will be on I-64, I-44, I-55, and I-70 in the city of St. Louis.
"We know that criminals utilize the interstate system to move around. So we will be there to enforce the laws and carry out our mission," said Col. Eric Olson, the superintendent for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
This change came along with a slew of others after Gov. Mike Parson met with local leaders about what resources the state could provide as the city tries to stop the violence.
“After meeting with leaders and organizations at all levels over the past months, we have rolled up our sleeves, gotten to work, and identified the immediate actions we at the state level can take to help get violent criminals off our streets," said Parson.
There will be more state troopers assigned to work with a variety of task forces that work to specifically get violent criminals and dangerous fugitives off the street.
There will also be more coordination between the Missouri Attorney General's Office with the U.S. Attorney's Office on federal-level gun and drug cases. There have been 500 indictments and another 200 cases are being prepared for indictment, according to a release from the governor's office.
Parson's plan is not only for St. Louis but for the region. Danny Fowler said he hopes that's the case. He's lived in Berkeley for about 40 years, and he said he's seen a lot of crime in his neighborhood.
He said he hears gunshots almost nights and on Friday, he said he watched as a driver fleeing police, slammed into his car and his fence. Fowler was standing feet away.
"I would have been run over," he said if it happened moments later as he was about to head to his car.
Berkeley is just a 20-minute drive to the city of St. Louis. He said he hopes the plan from the state helps, but he is concerned that it just simply will not be enough.
Parson has said it will take a team effort, not just these added resources from the state, to help fix the violence in St. Louis.
