ST CHARLES, Mo. — Subject 2 is 18yoa. Subject 4 is 19yoa. The 5th subject is deceased (Terrell Peete 19yoa). The 6th subject was unharmed and is 18yoa. I cannot speak to possible charges.
Two men were charged Thursday with murder in connection with a shooting less than 24 hours earlier that left another man dead and two other people injured in St. Charles, police said.
Prosecutors charged Gabriel Patterson and Keonta Hardin with second-degree murder. Patterson, 18, of the 1600 block of Barbara Drive in St. Charles County, was also charged with five counts of armed criminal action, three counts of first-degree assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. Hardin, also 18, of the 9800 block of Edgefield Drive in Moline Acres, faced an additional charge of stealing.
According to a probable cause statement, the shooting happened after two groups met shortly after 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the St. Charles Convention Center to trade guns. The convention center adjoins the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel just south of Interstate 70 on Convention Center Boulevard.
St. Charles police spokesperson Lt. Daniel Gibbons said Hardin was one of three people shot during the altercation. He and two other people were inside a white Chevrolet Malibu that crashed into a tree near the intersection of Beverly Drive and South Drive on the west side of the complex.
Police said Hardin was shot in the arm. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital before being transferred to the St. Charles Police Department to be questioned by detectives.
Driving the bullet-riddled Malibu was Terrell Peete, 19, of St. Louis. He was shot and later died at a hospital from his injuries, Gibbons said.
"You don't want to hear anybody being shot and killed, but definitely not somebody that's 19,” Gibbons said.
Another person in the Malibu, a 19-year-old man, was shot multiple times in the back, authorities said.
A fourth person who was near the Malibu when officers arrived was uninjured, Gibbons said.
Dixie Schafer, who lives with her husband near the convention center, said they heard about 12 gunshots.
"I just sat down (for) maybe four or five minutes, and heard the shots go ‘pop, pop, pop.’ My husband said, ‘I think that's gunfire —automatic gunfire,’" Schafer said.
During his interview with police, Hardin said that he and Peete arranged to trade Glock handguns as part of an arrangement that was coordinated by another person. Hardin expected that person to show up instead of Patterson and an 18-year-old man who accompanied him.
Patterson told police he handed his gun to Hardin, who in turn pointed his gun at Patterson.
Police said Patterson then removed an AR-style pistol from his left side pocket and began shooting at the Malibu as it drove away and later crashed into a tree.
Police said surveillance video supported Patterson’s account.
Mable Crawford, who also lives near the convention center, was walking her dog when she heard gunshots.
"I saw them putting bodies in ambulances. It was a mess. There were so many cop cars out here. I've never seen anything like it," she said.
After the shooting, Patterson and the person who was with him ran to Patterson’s nearby home before they were arrested, Gibbons said.
Gibbons said police are not looking for anyone else associated with the shooting, which he called a “bad decision that ended with a deadly outcome.”
"We do not believe there is any danger to the public at this time," Gibbons said.
"Anybody that is considering participating in gun violence really needs to consider what they're doing because that could wreck their life. It could change the course of other people's lives in the future.”
Both Hardin and Patterson were being held at the St. Charles County jail on a $500,000 bond.
Resources for crime victims:
If you have been a victim of a crime or know someone who has been, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of resources.
The Crime Victim Center of St. Louis has multiple programs to support victims of crime. Crime Victim Center’s programs range from direct services to crime victims as well as “creating awareness and change within the systems they encounter.”
Life Outside of Violence "helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence."
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has the Neighborhood Healing Network, which serves people who have experienced crime, violence or been the victim of an incident that caused trauma.
The Bullet Related Injury Clinic (BRIC) is a community-based clinic in St. Louis that helps people heal after they have been injured by a bullet. The BRIC was established to help people who are discharged from the emergency department after being shot.