ST. LOUIS — Editor’s note: This story includes profanities
An innocent woman was killed during a rolling gun battle in St. Louis on Thursday.
Four children – two toddlers and two teenagers - were in the same car as the woman at the time of the incident. All four were transported to a hospital for injuries, believed to be from the crash. The 25-year-old woman was transported to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Police said she was ejected from a car.
This happened near Fairground Park in the Fairground neighborhood. A total of six cars were involved in the incident – all of them either crashed or were hit by gunfire.
One of the children – a 15-year-old girl – suffered a head injury during the accident, according to a spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. She was transported to a hospital where she’s in serious condition.
One of the suspect vehicles, a 2007 Acura MDX, had been reported as stolen out of Creve Coeur. Police are still looking for the people who were involved in the gun battle. They ran from the scene after it happened.
"At this point in time, we want everybody to stay conscious that some of our shooters now are so brazen they — in broad daylight — are carrying out acts of violence," Lt. Col. Ronnie Robinson said during a news conference at the scene Thursday afternoon. "You’ve gotta be careful wherever you’re traveling as far as our city is concerned at this point."
5 On Your Side’s Casey Nolen spoke with Ward 3 Alderman Brandon Bosley shortly after the incident.
“This a place where our children have to commute back and forth from school, this is right across the street from a park man. So, when it comes down to us thinking about what it is as what we’re doing as a community and who it is we have to blame – this is a straight black on black problem,” Bosley said.
During the interview, Bosley emotionally and passionately said, “Let me address this…”
“I understand what’s going on in my community – I know that we have small wars going on and somebody shot somebody so you gotta go out and do what you gotta do to ensure that your family is safe. I 100% get that. I don’t condone that s--- at all, I don’t condone nobody getting shot.”
He wants the general public and innocent people to be left out of the violence.
“Leave us the hell out of it, leave the general public out of it… It ain’t us man.”
“Why the f--- do you got to shoot up the entire neighborhood to get to one person? Why do you not have to think about where those bullets are going to go after you release them from the chamber?”
Anyone with information should contact SLMPD’s Homicide Division at 314-444-5371 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
In 2019, Bosley asked Governor Parson to bring in Missouri National Guard to fight crime in the city.
“It’s certainly sad anytime someone is tragically affected by crime. While we understand the challenges, we are committed to working with local officials and jurisdictions all across Missouri on practical solutions to reduce crime,” Communications Director Steele Shippy said in April 2019.
Cut Short
"CUT SHORT: Unsolved Killings of St. Louis Children" is an initiative of KSDK 5 On Your Side and its community outreach program, "Project 5," to raise awareness of the unchecked violence against children in the city of St. Louis from the summer of 2019 to present.
We're dedicated to telling their stories, following the criminal investigations and shining a light on the reasons for gun violence in our city. We won't let up.
Please join us in this important campaign seeking justice for our youth by sharing these stories about their young lives cut short, reaching out to elected officials and supporting the worthy organizations in St. Louis working to make our city's neighborhoods safer places to raise families.
