EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Jarrell Anderson, 23, is now in custody facing serious charges for the murder of 23-year-old Turyan Austell. While Anderson awaits extradition, MetroLink has plans to continue advancing its safety measures.
It started at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee station, where an altercation occurred between the two individuals who have connections to each other. It happened early in the morning, and it resulted in Anderson shooting the victim.
“Due to the Metro security camera system, investigators were able to establish a person of interest early on in the investigation,” said Commander Justin Biggs during a presser held at the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening.
That, and the public’s assistance; 90 tips later, Anderson is facing a charge of murder with intent to kill and injure, with a bond of $2 million.
“”These acts of violence that we continue to see proliferate throughout the region… these are sad occurrences,” said Kevin Scott, general manager of Security for the Bi-State Development of the MetroLink.
That is why, since July 25, when the call was made at 5:45 a.m., 19 investigators have been working around the clock with the assistance of other agencies.
“A second call came in that the male was shot on a train at the Washington Park station,” Biggs said. “The deputies were able to link those two scenes together as one incident.”
While the suspect fled at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee location, the victim bordered the train before landing at the Washington Park location.
Biggs said it took only three days for them to catch Anderson, thanks to the hard work of their staff, MetroLink, and the community.
“The dedication of professionalism that stands behind me… their work, is what brought this to a quick ending,” he said.
Scott reported 15 incidents per 100,000 bordered passengers at the end of quarter one. The Metro has increased safety over the last four years, and they aren’t done yet.
“We’re getting ready to close and secure all these platforms with high-security gating and fencing,” Scott said.
This includes the station where the incident occurred. They’ll also be increasing the 900 cameras currently in use to 1,600.
“We all take it personally, here’s the thing we all love our city,” Scott said.
According to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation is ongoing. Anderson will be held in the St. Louis County Justice Center until he is extradited to the St. Clair County Jail in Illinois.