ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had its hands full with multiple shootings across the city earlier this month.
Officers were called to three separate shooting scenes on Sept. 8 that left one man dead and injured five others. The shootings happened in a 75-minute span.
At 10:14 p.m. police were called to a gas station at Natural Bridge Avenue and Goodfellow Boulevard. Police said a 29-year-old man was shot twice in the arm.
Investigators said the victim and a 25-year-old man were trying to remove a 29-year-old man from the gas station when a struggle and fight ensued. During the fight, the 25-year-old man took out a gun and claimed the 29-year-old man tried to grab it.
The gun went off and hit the victim. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and his vitals were stable at last check, police said.
The 25-year-old man and 29-year-old man were taken into custody.
An hour later, four people were shot in the 4000 block of St. Ferdinand Avenue. This is in St. Louis’ Greater Ville neighborhood.
According to investigators, a 30-year-old woman and 37-year-old man got into an argument that escalated to the man hitting the woman in the face multiple times with a gun.
At some point, the man exchanged gunfire with a 21-year-old man. During the shootout, the 37-year-old man was hit along with three other victims. Several vehicles in the area were also hit by bullets.
Police located the three other victims – a 32-year-old man, 29-year-old woman and 26-year-old woman – in the 1400 block of Pendleton after the shooting.
The 30-year-old woman was treated for facial injuries at the scene. The 37-year-old man and 32-year-old man were taken to the hospital in critical condition. The 29-year-old woman and 26-year-old woman were also taken to the hospital and their vitals were stable at last check.
It is unclear if the 21-year-old man was injured during the incident.
At the scene, a 5 On Your Side photographer counted nearly 50 evidence markers in the middle of the street.
While police were busy with that shooting, a nearby scene was unfolding in the 3100 block of Whittier Street. Police said a man was shot and killed.
He was later identified as 37-year-old Stephen Byes.
St. Louis police said a suspect was arrested and they applied for charges. However, the circuit attorney's office refused the charges "citing self-defense issues," the police department said in an update Wednesday, Sept. 22.
The homicide was reported to police 12 minutes after the shooting call on St. Ferdinand. The scenes are less than a mile apart and both are located in the Greater Ville neighborhood.
A police officer answering phones overnight at St. Louis police's Real Time Crime Center didn't know if the two scenes were connected.
Anyone with information should contact St. Louis police’s homicide division at 314-444-5371 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).