ST. LOUIS — St. Louis police said the gunfire that struck and injured a 16-year-old on Interstate 55 came from the opposite direction of traffic, and they are looking for any evidence they can get in the case.
In a press conference, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Mitch McCoy said investigators believe the gunfire occurred in the southbound lanes of I-55 near Loughborough, striking and critically injuring a 16-year-old who was riding in a car going northbound with a family member.
Family members told 5 On Your Side that the teen struck by gunfire was Colin Brown, a 16-year-old hockey player for CBC High School and the Affton Americans. He was in the car with his father, Calvin Brown, a retired lieutenant colonel with Illinois State Police.
In the press conference, McCoy said the department's homicide investigators have taken the lead in the case because the boy is listed in critical condition in the hospital.
McCoy said police were called to the area of Broadway and Walnut at around 10:30 p.m. for a report of a 16-year-old that had been shot and needed help. When they arrived, they were informed that the shooting happened on the highway, and began investigating in the area. He said that investigation included two highway closures to search the area for evidence, once on Saturday night and again Sunday morning.
He said detectives went door-to-door in the area looking for any security video that may have captured part of the incident. They are now putting out a call to all people who were driving in the area at the time or may have seen what happened.
"We can not solve crime alone, but we do know that there are witnesses to what happened, and we need their eyewitness account to help us piece together what happened," he said. "No amount of information is too small."
Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 314-444-5371. Anonymous tips can be provided to CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
The St. Louis hockey community has rallied around the Brown family. Multiple groups are hosting fundraisers in the days since the shooting.