ST. LOUIS – Two teenager girls were shot Monday morning in south St. Louis.
The shooting happened in the 4100 block of Virginia Avenue in an alley just off Gasconade near Compton in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Police said approximately eight bullets were fired. They also said the girls are about 15 years old.
Some south St. Louis residents said they woke up to gunfire around 7 a.m.
“I heard gun shots, a bunch of gunshots, they came from the back of my house,” said Kevin Santander.
After the shooting, the victim’s neighbor pulled the two girls into his home and called 911.
“I came around the corner and heard around six or seven gunshots. I got the girls on the porch, and called the police,” said John Ortwein.
When police arrived, the two girls were conscious and breathing. One teen suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her lower back. The other girl suffered a graze wound to her left forearm. Both girls were taken to the hospital by ambulance for treatment. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The St. Louis Public School District (SLPS) said both victims are SLPS middle school students. However, this shooting was not school related. School officials said the incident happened close to three hours before the first bell, so they can only assume the girls were not on their way to school.
Authorities said the victims will be ok. It’s unclear if the teens were the intended targets. Police are searching for the suspects and said they have some information to go off of when it comes to looking for possible suspects, but the details are limited.
If you have any information about this incident, contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).