St. Louis May See Most Murders In More Than Two Decades

Nine people were shot — two fatally — over the weekend in separate shootings, and a north city man was stabbed multiple times. He later died at the hospital, bringing the total number of murders in St. Louis to 170 this year. That number is already higher than any year since 1995, with the exception of 2015 and 2016, which tied for 188. With 55 days left in 2017, the city is on track to smash through that number in a matter of weeks.

Those shootings are in addition a multiple shooting at a funeral reception Friday that left three injured when a suspect in a white sedan opened fire on a group of people in the parking lot of the Ambassador Event Center. A witness told Fox 2 that the shooter was "settling a score over something unrelated."

More than 30,000 Americans are killed by guns every year and twice that number are injured, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 13,000 are murdered. The rest take their own lives or are victims of accidents. Almost half are children or young adults.

In the latest high-profile mass shooting, a gunman killed 26 people and injured dozens more at Sunday service in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church near San Antonio, Texas. In a one-redlight town with barely more than 600 people, that number amounts to almost 10 percent of the town's population. Many of the dead are children.

St. Louis activist and community organizer Charles Mayo, who founded the organization "Hood Helpers" to stop gang violence, said high profile mass shootings often distract from the slow-burning epidemic tearing apart neighborhoods across the country. "We only talk about gun control when Sandy Hooks or Columbines happen. But, we have mass shootings every day in our communities," he said at a Washington University gun violence seminar last month.

Police have not made any arrests and are looking for leads in the killings. Anyone with information is urged to contact St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers toll free at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477). All callers can remain anonymous. Tips can also be submitted through the CrimeStoppers website.