FLORISSANT, Mo. - A Florissant neighborhood is on edge after shots were fired just feet from their backyards Wednesday night. It happened Wednesday night along Lancer Court which backs up to the Halls Ferry Elementary School playground.
One neighbor, who called 911, said she was sitting on her back porch with her dogs when she saw three teenagers walk along the edge of her outer fence. They startled her dogs, who began barking.
“Safety is definitely a priority, and it doesn’t feel safe right now,” said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified.
Those were the same teenagers who yelled several obscenities and then fired several shots, she said.
“My instinct was just to get in the house and get the dogs in the house." She described hearing a total of three shots. “I heard the first 2 shots and you could see the fire come out of the muzzle."
Another neighbor, who has lived on Lancer Court for 30 years said,
"I find it a shame that you’ve got young people that are walking around with weapons,” said Michael Juenger, whose house sits a couple houses down from where the shots were fired. “That’s quite a concern for me.”
Juenger said while he is on high alert, this is not a typical occurrence. This is a quiet, calm neighborhood.
“As neighbors in this area, we watch out for each other, when something happens we all know and congregate,” Juenger said.
The consensus among neighbors is that these shots were fired too close to home and way too close to the Elementary School Playground.
“You have kids at that park, young kids enjoying the playground all the time,” said one neighbor.
"I know what bullets can do,” added Juenger. “They can hit things and they can bounce off and they can hurt somebody who has nothing to do with what’s going on."
Florissant Police told 5 On Your Side that the shots were fired into the air. They do not believe they were not directed at anyone. There were no injuries or any property damage.
Police said it will be stepping up its patrols in the area. It’s School Resource Officers will also be working closely with Halls Ferry Elementary School as an added security.
