ST. LOUIS – Police are investigating six separate shootings in the city after a violent weekend.
According to police, 17 people were injured and three people were killed in the shootings. One shooting outside of a bar late Sunday night left over 100 shell casings at the scene.
Downtown residents are frustrated with the crime and want to see more action.
“It is disappointing knowing that we are at the beginning of the summer. You don’t like to know that people are getting shot or dying from getting wounded,” Arnold Stricker said.
Stricker lives downtown and could hear the gunshots from one of the shootings from the weekend. Chief Tracy held a news conference Monday to discuss the incidents, including one near Fairgrounds Park, where police said more than 100 bullets were fired.
“Of the six victims shot, two were convicted felons, and two are documented gang members. Knowing people at the highest prepotency for violence—carrying guns, known to each other—is sometimes a recipe for disaster,” Chief Tracy said.
The department is also investigating three murders from over the weekend, which have had no suspects or arrests made.
Chief Tracy said year to date, there have been 74 homicides compared to 75 this time last year. Homicides this year have a 61% solve rate, and overall crime is down in the city, according to the chief and Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office.
“I can understand the frustration of the administration saying, ‘Hey, crime is down but maybe you’re not seeing it in your neighborhood. But what that does is it reminds us that we need to keep our foot down on the gas and keep working at all of the progress that we’ve made,” Conner Kerrigan with the St. Louis City Mayor’s Office said.
Residents like Stricker want to see even more action.
“I think the people who live in downtown are getting a little tired of mantras and press conferences and no action happening. I’m not blaming the police department at all because they’re a little hamstrung with staffing right now,” he said.
Mayor Jones released the following statement about city crime:
“Crime is down in St. Louis, but it is not where we want it. That’s why improving our city’s public safety remains my top priority, and we refuse to let up on our efforts to continue to reduce it even further. In January 2023, I appointed a new, visionary police chief. As the new head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Chief Tracy immediately got results, achieving the city’s largest year-over-year reduction in crime in 90 years and fewest homicides in a decade.
“Last year was also the first full year in action for the Office of Violence Prevention, which I created in 2022 to stop violence before it even occurs. And about a year ago, the City of St. Louis got a new circuit attorney who has cleaned up that office and is making sure that offenders caught by our police department are actually prosecuted. Meanwhile, we are working hard to attract more police officers to the SLMPD, and I’m pleased to say that just this year, we’ve already seen several former SLMPD officers return after previously leaving to work for other departments. We are headed in the right direction now, and we have to stay the course to make sure we reach our goal, which is a St. Louis where everyone feels safe.”
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