ST. LOUIS — A shooting late Wednesday night at a gas station in north St. Louis left a man dead and a child critically injured.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday inside the Convenience Express at 8815 North Broadway. A 34-year-old man was shot multiple times in his leg, arm and groin, and a 6-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to his side.
Police said the child was with his mother at the time of the shooting. The family of the 34-year-old confirmed he was not related to the child.
Both of the victims were taken to an area hospital, where the man was later pronounced dead, police said. The child remained hospitalized and was listed in critical condition as of Thursday morning.
5 On Your Side was the first to speak to the man's family, who identified him as Lamarco Sharp. His mother said he was a father of four and had six siblings. She said he was in the convenience store playing on a slot machine game at the time of the shooting.
Sharp's mother, Chante Bass, said her son was celebrating his sisters graduation the night he was shot. Bass rushed to the hospital to comfort her son after he was shot. She said he suffered from asthma but was talking normally before the scheduled surgery to remove bullets from his body.
"He said, 'Baby bug, I love you.' I said 'I love you Marco, we are going to get through this.' Because I assumed he was going to get through it because he was going to surgery at 6 a.m.," Bass said.
But hours later, her son died at the hospital.
Bass said a few hours after his death, she was receiving requests for organ donation groups wanting to see if she would be willing to give her son's organs away. She told them no.
Police said the shooter was still at large as of Thursday morning. But police believe they're looking for two male suspects.
Police were called back to the gas station just after 1 p.m. Thursday for two people firing shots at each other from their cars. According to police, one vehicle was located unoccupied with ballistic damage. As of Thursday afternoon, there were no reported injuries from that incident and an investigation was ongoing.
“We are tired of burying our children. We’re tired of these types of scenes, “ said Precious Jones, the founder of Breaking Generational Poverty Foundation.
Her 20-year-old son, Preston Jones, was shot and killed while he slept in his apartment in north St. Louis County on June 17, 2022.
“After my son was murdered, I started my foundation. We advocate against gun violence. Our goal is to keep our children alive. Get the guns out of the community. I think we also need more police presence in these high-crime areas. I think they need to set up sub-stations and have police officers sitting at them on a regular basis. I think that would help stop some of this violence,” Jones said.
Bass said she was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the gas station not close for business following the shooting Wednesday night.
"It's very upsetting. I'm very angry. I'm very upset that we allow things to go on. And we just go on the next day and mop up and clean up somebody's blood, wipe off some chairs. And we continue on with business?" Bass said.
Meantime, Ward 13 Alderwoman Pam Boyd called the gas station where the shootings happened "a hot spot for crime and a neighborhood nuisance."
In the last two years, police said they've been called to the gas station over 200 times for numerous crimes.
Boyd wants it shut down.
But the owner told 5 On Your Side that despite the issues, he wants to stay in business to "serve his community."
The community is pulling for an innocent child who was caught in a hail of gunfire.
"I'm praying that he fights through and makes it. I'm praying for a miracle for him," Jones said.
This was the third shooting in the city involving a juvenile in less than 24 hours. About an hour earlier, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg in downtown St. Louis. And during the afternoon Wednesday, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the thigh in the city's Carondelet neighborhood.
Resources for crime victims
If you have been a victim of a crime or know someone who has been, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of resources.
The Crime Victim Center of St. Louis has multiple programs to support victims of crime. Crime Victim Center’s programs range from direct services to crime victims as well as “creating awareness and change within the systems they encounter.”
Life Outside of Violence "helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence."
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has the Neighborhood Healing Network, which serves people who have experienced crime, violence or been the victim of an incident that caused trauma.
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