ST. LOUIS — A violent weekend in St. Louis has many asking for change, once again.
Five people died and at least 15 others were injured in the city from Friday evening through Sunday morning.
There were at least 11 shootings across the city in less than a 48-hour span.
An internal police memo obtained by 5 On Your Side said officers in downtown St. Louis were juggling as many as 55 calls at the same time Saturday night into Sunday.
Multiple sources told 5 On Your Side that officers were not only responding to those shootings but also reports of reckless driving incidents and even an attempted drowning.
This has Bishop Michael Robinson, Hope Nation International Church Senior Pastor and City Hope St. Louis CEO, worried.
"We want to see the violence end," he said.
Bishop Robinson, like many others, are crying out for help after the first full weekend in May left 5 dead and at least 15 others injured across St. Louis.
"That is extremely alarming to me because what we know from the trends is that the hotter it gets, the worse it gets," he said.
A shooting on Cherokee Street Friday night took the lives of 2 men and injured 2 others ahead of the Cinco De Mayo Festival there Saturday.
Officers also responded to a shooting near Destrehan St. and Blair Ave. Saturday night, where they found one man dead from a gunshot wound to his chest.
Then, early Sunday morning a quadruple shooting left 2 teens dead, and 2 others hurt in the Hyde Park Neighborhood.
Bishop Robinson said he is sorry that our city is experiencing this type of violence.
"We are not even fully into summer yet and we are experiencing these types of numbers," he said.
Bishop Robinson said with so much transition happening in the city from a new police chief to change within the prosecutor's office, many are looking to these leaders for guidance.
"All of these things have an effect on what we see in our community, what we see on the streets because these individuals have the responsibility to help to keep this city safe, but they’re in transition. It may take some time for them to get fully acclimated to things, but we need immediate help in our streets," he said.
That immediate help has to come from all over.
That's why Bishop Robinson is working to open safe spaces throughout the city to connect resources to those that need them most.
"A lot of young people carry the burden of their family problems and issues, and they don’t have anywhere else to turn. We want to be that safe space where they can come and be able to get the resources, get connected to the community resources, that are out there," he said.
While many organizations across the city are working hard to curb the violence, Bishop Robinson believes it takes everyone to make a change.
"We also want to see new organizations, new churches, new people just stepping up to the plate and doing whatever it is that they can to help to remedy this plague that we are experiencing in our city," he said.
Bishop Robinson is working to open his church as a safe space. He's also looking for other places to partner with like gyms or recreational facilities.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones provided the following statement:
"What should have been a joyous, warm weekend for our city has instead been difficult. We are seeing interpersonal conflicts escalate, made deadly when paired with the flood of firearms on our streets. Gun violence harms neighborhoods and families across St. Louis, and I’m keeping especially close in my prayers the youth St. Louis lost last night.
"SLMPD is reviewing and investigating this weekend’s incidents, and we will continue to work alongside our community violence intervention partners to address conflicts before they erupt. The City of St. Louis will continue to use every tool available to us to make our communities safer, but our families urgently need action with gun safety laws at the state and federal levels."