ST. LOUIS – A Friday night shooting turns the residential streets of Soulard into a war zone as two suspects are caught on camera rapidly shooting at one another.
A wave of gunfire wakes up and frightens residents around 11 p.m.
“Went on for several minutes, but pretty much shook the whole neighborhood up,” said Kathy Sweetnam, a Soulard resident.
Two suspects are seen on surveillance video shooting at one another across Ann Avenue. The barrage of bullets thankfully did not hurt anyone, but it did hit several cars. One hit Sweetnam’s front windshield. Her car gets towed away, but the damage remains for many others.
“One bullet went through the side of my car and out the side window, and one in my tire,” said Chase Rowland, a Soulard resident. “It’s getting worse in Soulard; we’ve had four different car break-ins in the last few months, and someone got shot last month.”
“It’s nerve-wracking, it’s scary, and I wish they could do something about the crime,” Sweetnam said. “We actually are paying extra taxes to help for security, but we do not see that extra security.”
The gunfire is the latest incident in a string of crimes recently, something candidates running to be the next alderperson say they plan to curb.
“It’s not working currently. I think we need to shore up more efforts around community engagement,” said Shedrick Kelley, a candidate for alderman in the 8th Ward. “We need to focus more on helping the youth, making them feel more a part of the community.”
“This is an area that really needs additional lighting at night; when you have a dark area, a dark nook, it really welcomes criminal behavior,” said Cara Spencer, a candidate for alderwoman in the 8th Ward. “We need to nip it in the bud.”
Spencer said she also supports more patrols. The third candidate, Kenneth Ortmann, said he plans to continue to work with law enforcement and city departments but would like to see updated lights.
FOX 2 reached out to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, which is investigating, but has yet to hear back.
