ST. LOUIS — In the silence of St. Louis' stay-at-home order, gun shots are still ringing out in the city.
"As we look down the list, we see that St. Louis is up three homicides compared to this time last year," Police Chief John Hayden said.
The violence is proving to be one of the city's biggest threats even as lives are lost due to the coronavirus.
"The fact that people are still getting into those type of interactions, there's still dope dealing going on. There's still plenty of personal disputes and there's still domestic things going on in the midst of this pandemic," Hayden said.
Chief Hayden addressed the continued homicide issue in a conference call Thursday led by the area's clergy coalition.
"The criminal element does not feel empowered, but at the same time those circles continue a cycle of violence," he said.
This week alone, the city marked four homicides in 24 hours. A 31-year-old man was shot on Genevieve Avenue, a teenage girl was shot on Franklin Avenue, a 19-year-old was shot on South Broadway and there was a fatal hit and run on South Grand.
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Chief Hayden pointed out that it's not just St. Louis with a continued homicide problem.
"Chicago is up 20 homicides. Houston is up 20 homicides. Philadelphia was up 12" Hayden said.
On the other end, the police chief also highlighted that crimes of opportunity are down.
"We're down 11% on robberies, likewise burglaries are down 9%," Hayden said.
Hayden also reminded the public that officers are still on duty through the ongoing pandemic.
"We still have a strong visibility presence, we're still going on all the calls. When people are calling 911 or what have you, we're still responding to shot spotter," Hayden said.