ST. LOUIS — The shooting of an innocent 3-year-old boy has angered William Lane and other neighbors, their alderwoman and St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden.
"I am tired of it, too. I am disappointed and shocked. I'm certainly thankful the young boy is alive," Hayden said.
Lane said, "I heard numerous shots being fired, and I immediately hit the floor. I think it's really ridiculous to hear what happened to that child."
"It's just horrendous and sad that we have to put up with this type of thing," said Fourth Ward Alderwoman Dwinderlin Evans.
Police say shortly before 9 Wednesday night, someone rode down the 4200 block of Evans Avenue near Whittier and repeatedly fired into a white car filled with five children.
Bullet after bullet slammed into the sides of the running car, flattened all the tires and blasted the back windshield.
The 3-year-old boy was shot in the leg. His siblings weren't hurt.
Police say it happened after their mom dropped off groceries to a family member's home.
"Who owns the car? That's not necessarily clear right now, but she was returning to the car and her children were inside," Hayden said.
"It doesn't make sense. It's like we get a generation of people who show a lack of respect for themselves, for others, for life and for community. It's becoming the norm that children are being shot and in some cases, killed," Evans said.
So far this year, 35 children and teenagers under the age of 17 have been shot in the city. Ten of the victims died.
In the Vandeventer neighborhood, residents have told 5 On Your Side for years they have pleaded for more police.
"More officers' presence might curtail some of the crimes. We deserve to have a safer place to live in our community," Evans said.
"We will absolutely respond to her concerns. We will meet her and the neighbors' expectations. They're going to get more visibility soon as we decide to rotate more police officers and put them in that neighborhood," Hayden said.
Meantime, anyone who knows anything about Wednesday night's shooting, is asked to call St. Louis Metro Police.