ST. LOUIS — A man charged with fatally shooting one person and injuring two others early Wednesday morning near the Gateway Arch is now accused of shooting two other people about a mile away in 2021.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office on Friday charged Brandon Howard with first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with an incident on June 14, 2021.
Police said Howard, 31, of St. Louis, was among two groups of people that had gathered at about 4 a.m. at Rootwad Park near the intersection of O'Fallon and Commercial streets. The park, constructed in 2008 by City Museum founder Bob Cassily, is about three blocks north of the Martin Luther King Bridge along the Mississippi River.
As the groups began leaving the park, people in one of the groups began shooting at a vehicle that was occupied by Travis Morrow, 18, of Florissant, and a 16-year-old girl. Both Morrow and the girl were struck by gunfire. Paramedics pronounced Morrow dead at the scene; the girl was taken to a St. Louis hospital for treatment of her injuries.
While detectives were interviewing Howard about Wednesday's shootings, he admitted he fired a rifle at the pair's vehicle, according to court documents.
Howard also told police he thought Murrow had a weapon. Surveillance video from a camera along the nearby Mississippi Greenway doesn't show him with a weapon, police said.
Howard was also seen on surveillance video handing a bottle to another person, who threw it into a wooded area. The bottle was recovered by police, and fingerprints on the bottle were matched to Howard.
This past Wednesday's shootings killed Fred Moore, 28, of East St. Louis, and injured a 28-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman.
The shootings happened shortly after midnight on the 600 block of S. Leonor K. Sullivan Blvd., near the south end of the Gateway Arch National Park, as dozens of cars were parked along the riverfront.
St. Louis police said surveillance video captured Howard changing a tire on his vehicle before he got into another person's car parked nearby. He then got out of the car and pulled a blue ski mask over his head.
Several minutes later, video shows other people who were in the area begin to scatter. A car being driven by Moore then comes into view and crashes into a parked car and a light pole.
Police said Howard was "skipping" toward Moore's car while simultaneously firing shots from a .45-caliber pistol, which he later told police was in his car.
The 28-year-old man who was injured was a passenger in Moore's car. Police said the "clearly unarmed" man tried to run away but was shot by Howard in the stomach. The 37-year-old woman was also shot in the stomach.
Neither person's condition was immediately available on Friday, but they were listed in critical condition on Wednesday, police said.
Police said after shooting the man and woman, Howard went back to the passenger side of Moore's car and pointed his gun inside the vehicle. Another person walked up to the driver's side of Moore's car and fired a single shot. People surrounding Moore's car then drove off.
Moore had several gunshot wounds to both sides of his body and a gunshot wound to his head.
Howard told police he fired his gun in self-defense, but that "appears refuted by the video surveillance," according to court documents. Howard is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.
Howard is being held at the City Justice Center without bond.
In response to Wednesday's shootings, St. Louis police said no vehicles would be allowed to access the south end of Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard after 7 p.m.
"We are working with the city and our business partners to find the best solutions for securing Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, but for now we will use ... gates that are already at this location," St. Louis police Major Renee Kriesmann said.
Kriesmann said that most of the north end of Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard has already been secured with gates and concrete barriers, adding police would "do all we can" to ensure riverboat activities were allowed to continue.
The intersection of Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and Chouteau Avenue, near where Wednesday's shootings happened, is already patrolled on the weekend by St. Louis police as part of the department's violent crime reduction and cruising enforcement details, Kriesmann said.