Violent Weekend: Kenneth Watkins Found Shot In DeBaliviere Place Home (Homicide No. 49)

Jul 1, 2013 at 10:01 am

It was another violent weekend in the city of St. Louis. On Saturday morning, a landlord in south St. Louis discovered one of his tenants, Oscar Guerra, had shot and killed his wife and toddler son before turning the gun on himself. Later that day, metro police were called to another apartment for a shooting, this time on Pershing Avenue in the DeBaliviere Place neighborhood.

There, cops say, they found Kenneth Watkins, 22, suffering from wounds to his chest, torso and arm. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.

After the murder-suicide earlier that morning, Watkins is the 49th homicide victim in the city of St. Louis in 2013.

See also: - St. Louis Suffers Night Of Violence: Eighteen Injured In Eight Separate Incidents - Sam Dotson Reflects On Violent Week: "Bitterly Disappointed" About Escaped Suspect - Suspect Crashes Into St. Louis Cop Car, Injures Officer; Second Cop Faces Bullets

Police say Watkins lived in the apartment where he was found on the 5500 block of Pershing Avenue.

The department doesn't yet have any details to offer about the suspect, but during an investigation at the crime scene, cops spoke with several witnesses who reported hearing arguing and then gunshots coming from the hallway on the second floor of the apartment complex.

click to enlarge Pershing Avenue where Watkins was found dead. - via Google Maps
via Google Maps
Pershing Avenue where Watkins was found dead.

Officers arrived at around 11:45 p.m.

On Saturday, there were two other separate incidents of domestic violence, police say. In one case, on the 3900 block of North Florissant Avenue in Hyde Park, a 32-year-old woman got into an argument with a 33-year-old man. As the woman was reportedly waiting for family members to come pick her up from the front of the building, the suspect confronted her and allegedly removed a handgun and fired into the air.

The victim escaped without suffering any wounds, police say.

In yet another Saturday incident, on the 8500 block of Oriole Avenue in north St. Louis, police say that a dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend turned violent and that a 29-year-old male was struck by a car. He was treated at the scene.

Here are the SLMPD incident summaries on the Saturday crimes.

Crime Summary - Sunday June 30

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