ST. LOUIS – Several questions remain in the investigation into what caused an eruption of gunfire on Lindell Boulevard and Spring Avenue, feet away from the northern edge of St. Louis University’s campus.
A suspect is in custody, police say. They do not believe the individuals involved were SLU students.
The shooting happened shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Midtown neighborhood. Campus officials urged students to stay away from the scene.
“I heard shots from a weapon. Maybe two types of weapons,” said Gentle Day, owner of Royal Auto Repair
Day described the moments he heard the eruption of gunfire and witnessed construction workers near the incident flee for their lives.
“We went to the doorway, and we saw everybody from the building from across the street over here running,” he said.
The St. Louis Fire Department tells FOX 2 there were two active scenes involved in the deadly shooting. The first was where the victim in this case was found shot and killed. Police found a second person had been shot in the 3700 block of Lindell.
According to Captain Pierre Benoist, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the man was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. There’s been no update on that man’s status.
“One of the first things that I think of is whether it’s one of the 60 guys in my fraternity that it could’ve happened to,” said Sean Denby, a SLU senior.
Concerned over the welfare and involvement of students at the university, Benoist says that while the early stages of this investigation continue, they’ll be gathering information from those who saw it firsthand.
“We do have some witnesses involved in this incident,” Benoist said.
Those witnesses could help identify another key part of this ongoing investigation.
Police said there wasn’t any noticeable evidence on either man to indicate they were students.
Students were relieved to be notified of the incident.
“Whenever something like this happens on campus, which is semi-frequently, we get a text notification,” Denby said.
An emergency notification and an increased police presence from SLU’s police department, wasn’t a surprise to Day, who’s been in the area for over 40 years.
“St. Louis University they got zero tolerance for people coming over here,” he said.
This marks the first homicide recorded in Midtown this year.
“This was just an unforeseen, I think, occurrence,” Day said.
FOX 2 reached out to a SLU spokesperson to see if they have plans to take more safety precautions ahead of the start of the semester. We have not received any comment from the university.