ST. LOUIS – Concerns over violence at short-term rentals in St. Louis are growing after a man was shot outside an Airbnb in the Shaw neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
A resident said they heard gunshots around 1:20 p.m. Sunday and started to record the Airbnb across the street.
“I heard several loud popping noises. Initially, I thought my wife dropped something loudly upstairs, so I paused for a second, and then I heard it very loudly again,” said Robert Davis.
A 23-year-old man was shot. He told police he was leaving a party at the Airbnb on Castleman Avenue when suddenly a man in a black ski mask started shooting.
The suspect drove away and hasn’t been seen since.
The victim was shot in the abdomen and was taken to the hospital.
“I saw one man crouched behind a car and another man laid out in the street, and he was holding his stomach,” Davis said. “One of my neighbors comforted him, sort of held him as he tried to sit up, we tried to make sure he didn’t fall unconscious.”
Davis said Airbnb has increasingly had issues over the last year ranging from loud parties to fights and now shootings.
Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez, Ward 6, which represents the Shaw neighborhood, said the lack of regulations caused the uptick in violence and needs to be fixed.
“There are no regulations for short-term rentals, and other cities St. Louis size do have that,” she said. “So, it’s time that we make sure that people can have short-term rentals, but it doesn’t disrupt the lives of St. Louisans.”
A bill is currently in discussions to set regulations, but Velazquez said it’s just a starting point.
“It’s important that we are able to get in contact with out-of-state owners, and it’s important that people who do have short-term rentals are honoring the current city occupancy limits,” she said.
“I think if they make some of those proposed regulations on the short-term rentals things will get better, so I’m optimistic about the city,” said a St. Louis resident.
The bill is set to be discussed before the city transportation committee on June 20. If approved, it will move on to a vote by the city council.