ST. LOUIS (KSDK) – Two homicides and two shootings were reported Saturday night and early Sunday morning in the city of St. Louis – a violent start to the second official day of summer.
It began at 11:17 p.m. Saturday when a man died after getting stabbed in the neck in the 5900 block of Theodore. Police say they found the victim -- identified as 62-year-old Otis Jackson -- sitting in front of a home with several witnesses surrounding him and applying pressure to the wound. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. An ensuing investigation revealed that Jackson had been in an argument with his 38-year-old live-in girlfriend, who has been taken into custody. The knife was recovered at the scene.
If warrants are issued, the Circuit Attorney's Office will release the suspect's name.
Fifteen minutes later, a 33-year-old man was shot in the left side of the head in the 2700 block of Thomas. Police say they found the victim lying on the front steps of a home in the above location with gunshot wounds to the head, two gunshot wounds to the chest and one wound to his armpit. He is currently listed in serious condition at a local hospital.
Police say the victim is uncooperative and isn't providing officers any information. An investigation is ongoing.
At 1:52 a.m. Sunday, a 18-year-old man was shot in the back in the 1200 block of Leonor K. Sullivan on Laclede's Landing. Police say he was with his girlfriend when he heard what he thought was a gunshot and felt pain in his shoulder. He drove to the 200 block of Martin Luther King Drive, where he contacted police officers. He was taken to a nearby hospital, but left against medical advice.
About a half hour later – at 2:30 a.m. – police found a woman in an alley at 3915 St. Louis Avenue -- near the intersection with Vandeventer. She had been fatally shot three times in the head. Police are trying to identify the victim and notify the next of kin. No suspects have been identified.
As of the end of May, 52 people had been murdered in the city of St. Louis – up 36.8 percent from the same time last year.
A total of 120 homicides were reported in St. Louis in 2013 -- a 6.2 percent increase over the previous year. Police say violent crime dropped 10.3 percent and property crime dropped 4.2 percent.
