ST. LOUIS, Missouri — City leaders are scrambling for practical crowd control solutions after a gunman opened fire in a crowd of teenagers who gathered downtown on Sunday night.
"We had a fairly violent weekend this weekend," St. Louis Public Safety Director Dan Isom said in a Monday morning press conference.
According to Isom, police detectives have video footage of the gunman but have not yet made an arrest. No one was injured in that shooting, but a separate fight broke out on Kiener Plaza Park shortly after police cleared the scene near the intersection of 8th and Pine.
Video footage posted to social media shows officers detaining and questioning several suspects in the moments after the shooting. Most of them appeared to be high school age.
Isom also called on parents to take a more active role in protecting their kids.
"Parents have a responsibility," he said. "When you do have groups that might get into disturbances, get into fights, which is what is occurring downtown, then that is problematic."
City leaders urged parents not to leave their teenage children downtown without adult supervision. While an 11 p.m. curfew is in place, Isom said the city hasn't been strictly enforcing it.
After neighbors living nearby watched the crowd of teens scatter through the streets, several of them called for the city to enforce a curfew.
"You heard a lot of gunshots and then you saw the kids running in all directions," Alisha told 5 On Your Side after watching the scene unfold from her apartment window.
Danielle is another woman who lives near the scene where police barricaded streets and interrogated witnesses.
"The only time I really kind of felt like unsafe was when they started bringing those scooters," she said. "It's scary. It's scary."
"I hate to say it, but we're going to need a curfew," Danielle said.
"If these kids are still down here, I hate to do it, but arrest them. Fine their parents," Alisha added. "They are destroying property, and for what reason? Smashing peoples' cars in the garage, on the street, and for what reason?"
Isom confirmed the city is considering pulling the plug on the electric scooters sooner in the evening to discourage large groups of teens from racing through city streets and sidewalks on them.
He pointed out that the shooting occurred before the 11 o'clock curfew was in effect, so that solution alone may not be enough to deter or prevent violent outbreaks.
People living downtown fear a repeat of last summer. At this time in 2021, St. Louis police had reported 70 murders. The city is reporting 66 so far in 2022.
The dangerous outbreaks threaten to steer foot traffic away from businesses, and threaten the general sense of safety and belonging for people who live here.
"Our Cardinals games, our Blues games," Danielle said. "One thing about St Louis, we love our teams. We have that pride. I don't feel a sense of pride when I'm living downtown."