Global Courant
A late-night shooting at a party at an office building in downtown St. Louis injured at least 10 people and killed one person, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Eight of the 11 victims, including the deceased, were minors, according to St. Louis police. Five of the victims were male, six were female.
The victims are between the ages of 15 and 19, according to police.
The deceased victim has been identified as Makao Moore, a 17-year-old boy, according to St. Louis Police Department Sgt. Karel Wall.
A 17-year-old girl was trampled as she tried to run from the shooting, resulting in serious spinal cord injuries, Tracy said.
Police recovered multiple firearms and shell casings at the scene, including “AR-style rifle pistols” and a handgun, Tracy said.
The suspect in custody is a 17-year-old man who lives outside of St. Louis, Tracy said.
The shooting took place on the fifth floor of an office building in downtown St. Louis, according to authorities.
The initial investigation suggested that the social gathering was organized through social media direct messaging platforms, although police do not currently know how those in attendance gained access to the office building.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones attributed the shooting to Missouri’s “lax” gun laws, including February’s decision to continue to allow minors to carry firearms, and for downtown St. Louis to be a nighttime hangout for out-of-town youth.
“Instead of celebrating 10 fathers (and) father figures, families in our own community are dealing with the unthinkable,” Jones said at the news conference.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, tenfold,” she said of the shooting. “My heart goes out to all the families who are hurting today. All present will carry with them the scars, physical and mental, of the gun violence that tore into their lives.”
According to the Nonprofit Gun Violence Association, Missouri has one of the weakest gun laws in the country Everytown for gun safety.
According to Everytown, the state does not require a background check to buy or own a gun.
Anyone 19 and older can legally conceal and/or open a gun in Missouri without a license, by law, and the state also recognizes concealed gun permits issued by other states.
