Another morning in East Boogie. A delivery man parks his truck outside a warehouse around 6 a.m. on Thursday. He's a father of three, plus three step-children. A Marine Corps veteran of the Persian Gulf War. A man trying to get a college degree by taking classes online. A guy whose co-workers later told the Post-Dispatch he was "friendly" and "worked hard."
We didn't know him, but we know he was up and working at 6 a.m.
He gets out of his truck.
A gunman comes up, shoots him during what appears to be an attempted
robbery, then runs. A woman passing by bravely stays by his side until police arrive.
Our man, the victim, Truman L. Smith, 40, of Irondale, Missouri, is rushed to the hospital, but doesn't make it. On his person, he has an ankle bracelet made by one of his kids, and 21 cents.
East St. Louis Police have no suspects.
"I find it difficult to believe the morning commute had started and no one saw anything," says Assistant Chief Aubrey Keller in a phone interview with Daily RFT. "I'm really upset about this thing. But it's going to have to be the community that assists the police department."
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