The latest homicide victim in St. Louis is one of the youngest of the year so far.
St. Louis metro police say that yesterday Pierre Childs, age sixteen, was found lying on the grass between the street and sidewalk at around 5 p.m. after officers received a call for a shooting.
He was unconscious -- and by the time they made it to a nearby hospital, he was dead on arrival, cops say. The shooting took place on the 4800 block of Anderson Avenue in the Penrose neighborhood -- reportedly on the same street where there was another shooting less than 24 hours earlier.
Childs is the 32nd homicide victim of 2013 in the city of St. Louis.
In yesterday's fatal shooting, police say that the suspects are a group of black males that remain unknown at this time.
One witness, the official report says, recalled seeing a group of suspects firing at the victim and other unknown individuals. The investigation is ongoing at this time. Childs, police say, was not even breathing by the time cops arrived.
The victim lived on the block where he was shot dead, police say.
According to metro records, shots were also fired on that same block on Monday evening in a dispute that cops say involved two males, ages seventeen and 22, and a 27-year-old woman. They were reportedly sitting at a dining room table inside a residence when someone knocked on their door and then four people forced their way inside. One of them started arguing with the woman about money related to a drug deal, cops say.
The 22-year-old male inside the home and one of the intruders then fired bullets at each other in front of the residence, but police say no one was hurt.
It's not clear what their relationship was to each other or if there's any connection between Monday's shooting and yesterday's shooting.
The fatality yesterday afternoon has sparked outrage from at least one local elected official:
Another boy murdered. As long as children continue to die on our city's streets, we must keep fighting to bring attention to this crisis.
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) May 8, 2013
On Saturday, another sixteen-year-old boy in St. Louis suffered gunshot wounds after reportedly shooting himself with his friend's gun. And on Sunday, a different boy, also age sixteen, was shot in the chest in the Baden neighborhood, police say, and taken to the hospital where he was in critical condition.
Here's the full SLMPD incident report on yesterday's homicide.
Incident: Homicide Location: 4800 block of Anderson Date/Time: 05/07/2013 @ 16:53 Victim: Pierre Childs, 16-year old black male of the 4800 block of Anderson Suspect(s): Unknown black males Officers received a call for a "shooting" at the above location and upon arrival, found the victim lying on the grass between the street and sidewalk, unconscious and not breathing. The victim was conveyed to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival. A witness recalled seeing a group of suspects firing at the victim among other unknown individuals. The investigation is ongoing.
And the report from Monday's shooting on the same block.
Incident: Assault 1st (Shooting) Location: 4800 block of Anderson Date/Time: 05/06/13 @ 18:40 Victim #1: 22-year old black male Victim #2: 17-year old black male Victim #3: 27-year old black female Suspect: unknown black male, early to mid 20's; 5'5-5'6; thin build; dark brown complexion; shoulder length dreads; platinum "grill" on the lower teeth; wearing a dark t-shirt and dark blue jeans Victim #1 stated he was sitting at the dining room table with Victim #2 and Victim #3 when he heard someone knocking at the front door. Victim #1 went to the front door and opened it as 4 individuals, including the unknown suspect, forced their way inside the house. The other 3 individuals were known to the victims. One of the known individuals immediately began arguing with Victim #3 over missing money involving a drug transaction. Victim #1 tried to calm down the situation but then told them to get out of the house. At this time, one of the other known individuals and Victim #1 began to argue and physically fight. Fearing a further assault, Victim #1 retrieved a firearm and ordered everyone to get out of the house. Victim #1 then observed the unknown suspect retrieve a firearm. Victim #1 and the suspect exchanged gunfire in the front of the residence. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.
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