ST. LOUIS — An internal police memo said officers in downtown St. Louis were juggling as many as 55 calls at the same time Saturday night into Sunday for reports of illegal driving, shootings and other alleged crimes, multiple sources told 5 On Your Side.
According to the memo obtained by 5 On Your Side, the officers in the 4th District responded to shootings, reckless driving incidents and even a report of an attempted drowning near The Arch.
The memo said the district was handling 17 calls as soon as the shift began, including a report of a car "slide show" on Market Street between 7th and 9th streets. Video from social media showed cars doing doughnuts in the middle of the street, blocking traffic. The department's Real Time Crime Center said some of the cars were reportedly stolen.
The memo said some of the pedestrians in the area were armed with long rifles and group members reportedly "fired numerous gunshots."
Officers from other districts responded to the area to help clear the drivers from the area, but other issues involving vehicles appeared later in the night.
The memo said more than 100 cars and a large group were along Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, where shots were fired. The memo said the group blocked the way for people who were aboard a river cruise ship.
According to the memo, officers that responded to the riverfront area were also made aware of a Facebook video that purported to show an attempted drowning in the Mississippi River. The incident report said the person live-streaming the video said people tried to "jump" a man, but the person jumped into the river. Officers were unable to find the victim, so they could not tell if a crime was committed.
The memo said the department could not respond to every call due to the number of incidents. At about 4:30 a.m., the Brooklyn, Illinois, police department chased a fleeing vehicle into St. Louis, where the driver crashed at Westbound Interstate 70 near Salisbury. The woman driving the car got out and ran off.
The memo said when the Brooklyn Police Department was told about the nearly 30 pending calls the 4th District was still working on, Brooklyn police left the crashed vehicle and returned to Illinois.
In addition to these incidents, 4th District officers responded to a shooting that left two teens dead and two others hurt near the intersection of Branch and N 21st Streets in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. None of the victims in that shooting have been identified.
Captain Pierre Benoist, with SLMPD, told reporters in a press conference on Friday that starting the first weekend of May, police presence on the busy downtown streets would be beefed up.
"We will have security, additional, this weekend and every weekend moving forward down in downtown and downtown West," he said.
Chair of Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis Les Stearman said he didn't notice an increased police presence.
"I know the police were overwhelmed with stuff happening all over the city but things are just completely out of control down here. Large groups blocking streets, cars speeding through red lights. The video you saw of someone with an automatic rifle walking right down the middle of the street. These are just tragedies waiting to happen," Stearman said.
Stearman said he believes there are quick things that can be done to help.
"I think there needs to be a blitz of law enforcement for some period of time to get the traffic lawlessness under control. I think right away we know which landlords are a problem. The city needs to get on their case immediately and put a stop to this. I mean, those are the kinds of things you can do almost overnight if you want to, and make things a lot better for everybody," Stearman said.
While it is frustrating for residents and possibly scaring some tourists away, 5 On your side talked with two people from Chicago that were in town for an Expo who said they had no idea crime was happening near where they were staying.
"We both know the positive and negatives of living in big cities, but we still feel perfectly safe coming back here. We stayed less than 4/10 of a mile from this incident. Had no idea," David Carter said.
St. Louis police said their increased police presence would continue every weekend moving forward.
The department released a statement about the additional patrols this weekend:
"Extra officers were staffed in the downtown area in addition to our mobile SkyCop cameras; however, I think it’s important to note that officers were called to respond to various locations throughout the evening/night in Downtown relative to large crowds, including the Riverfront where numerous amounts of cars were gathered. Multiple vehicles fled from officers as crowds were being dispersed. Extra patrol support lasted throughout the night."
Overall, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reported 11 shootings that resulted in five people dead and at least 15 others injured in the city from Friday evening through Sunday morning.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones provided the following statement:
"What should have been a joyous, warm weekend for our city has instead been difficult. We are seeing interpersonal conflicts escalate, made deadly when paired with the flood of firearms on our streets. Gun violence harms neighborhoods and families across St. Louis, and I’m keeping especially close in my prayers the youth St. Louis lost last night.
"SLMPD is reviewing and investigating this weekend’s incidents, and we will continue to work alongside our community violence intervention partners to address conflicts before they erupt. The City of St. Louis will continue to use every tool available to us to make our communities safer, but our families urgently need action with gun safety laws at the state and federal levels."
CEO Jason Hall with Greater St. Louis, Inc. provided a statement:
“The instances of violent crime that took place this weekend were tragic, disheartening, and maddening. They also underscore the critical and urgent need for a regional strategy to reduce violent crime across the St. Louis metro.
“Because violent crime impacts everyone in the St. Louis region and can be a barrier to economic growth and prosperity in our metro, we need a regional strategy to address it. To that end, we are collaborating with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments on a Regional Crime Summit in the coming weeks at which we will convene elected leaders, police, prosecutors, educators, human service providers, religious organizations, and outside experts to begin forming a unified strategy to reduce violent crime. We need clear goals and strategies that operate at scale.”