ST. LOUIS – Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department say the victim and suspect in Tuesday’s fatal shooting in Midtown knew each other.

Police identified the victim as Jaylen French of Florissant. French was shot just before 2 p.m. near Lindell Boulevard and Spring Avenue, feet away from the northern edge of St. Louis University’s campus. French was 25.

The suspect, identified only as a 19-year-old man, was found shot in the 3700 block of Lindell. He was taken to a hospital and is said to be in critical condition as of Tuesday evening.

Neither man is affiliated with the university.

“It appears at this time that the individuals were known to each other and the incident was the result of a dispute,” St. Louis police Captain Christi Marks said. “There was one firearm involved in the incident, and at some point there was a struggle over the firearm, which resulted in the suspect being shot.”

“I am a little worried to be in this area now, for sure,” said Lilly Buehrle, an incoming freshman.

Buehrle said she already had concerns about safety in the area.

“I was originally worried coming here because it is so close to the city,” she said. “Multiple times we were told that there’s cameras everywhere and that there’s campus police patrolling the building, but I think that this definitely shook it up a bit for me.”

Students will be moving in on Thursday, and classes begin next week.

A SLU spokeswoman said the university has more than 80 public safety officers who patrol the campus and its borders 24/7. The officers are armed and licensed by the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners. They receive year-round training.

Students and employees can request safety escorts to campus locations and areas adjacent to the campus.

The university also has 1,300 outdoor and indoor security cameras, and 120 emergency call boxes.

According to police, this was the first homicide in Midtown this year.