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| St. Louis Hopes $100,000 Reward Helps Solve Child Shooting Deaths | St. Louis Hopes $100,000 Reward Helps Solve Child Shooting Deaths |
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| Jurnee Thompson, 8, was waiting with family outside a restaurant in St. Louis late last week when she was shot to death. | Jurnee Thompson, 8, was waiting with family outside a restaurant in St. Louis late last week when she was shot to death. |
| She is among at least a dozen children who have been killed by gunfire in the city since April, according to The Associated Press. And now, the authorities, who have struggled to charge the killers, have announced $25,000 rewards for information leading to arrests in four recent cases, including hers. | She is among at least a dozen children who have been killed by gunfire in the city since April, according to The Associated Press. And now, the authorities, who have struggled to charge the killers, have announced $25,000 rewards for information leading to arrests in four recent cases, including hers. |
| “If you are as outraged as I am when I say: ‘Who does this? Who shoots in the direction of a 3-year-old? Who shoots in the direction of a 7-year-old or an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old?’ then please help police to solve these crimes,” Mayor Lyda Krewson said at a news conference on Saturday. | “If you are as outraged as I am when I say: ‘Who does this? Who shoots in the direction of a 3-year-old? Who shoots in the direction of a 7-year-old or an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old?’ then please help police to solve these crimes,” Mayor Lyda Krewson said at a news conference on Saturday. |
| The rewards, totaling $100,000 and available until Sept. 1, apply to the cases of: Jurnee, who was killed on Friday; 10-year-old Eddie Hill, who was killed as he stood on the porch of his home with family last month; 3-year-old Kennedi Powell, who was killed on the sidewalk in front of her home in June; and 2-year-old Kayden Johnson, who was shot and killed alongside her mother in April as they hid in a closet from intruders. | The rewards, totaling $100,000 and available until Sept. 1, apply to the cases of: Jurnee, who was killed on Friday; 10-year-old Eddie Hill, who was killed as he stood on the porch of his home with family last month; 3-year-old Kennedi Powell, who was killed on the sidewalk in front of her home in June; and 2-year-old Kayden Johnson, who was shot and killed alongside her mother in April as they hid in a closet from intruders. |
| The case of Xavier Usanga, 7, who was shot earlier this month, was not included in the rewards announcement, though a man has admitted to firing the shot that killed him, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. | The case of Xavier Usanga, 7, who was shot earlier this month, was not included in the rewards announcement, though a man has admitted to firing the shot that killed him, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. |
| “We need more information, we need the key information for these crimes, for these detectives to make an arrest,” Lisa Pisciotta, executive director of the St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers, the organization administering the rewards, said Tuesday. Investigations into all of the child shooting deaths this year are ongoing, the police said in a statement. | |
| After the rewards were announced, another child, Sentonio Cox, 15, was found shot to death according to the paper. The dozen children killed by gunfire in St. Louis this year ties or surpasses the number killed by gunfire in any of the past five years, according to data compiled by The Post-Dispatch. | After the rewards were announced, another child, Sentonio Cox, 15, was found shot to death according to the paper. The dozen children killed by gunfire in St. Louis this year ties or surpasses the number killed by gunfire in any of the past five years, according to data compiled by The Post-Dispatch. |
| This week, the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus announced that it had sent a letter to Gov. Michael Parson asking that he consider taking up a law in a special legislative session that would allow municipalities with high rates of gun violence to pass gun control restrictions. (All but a handful of states prohibit local gun control provisions, according to the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America.) | This week, the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus announced that it had sent a letter to Gov. Michael Parson asking that he consider taking up a law in a special legislative session that would allow municipalities with high rates of gun violence to pass gun control restrictions. (All but a handful of states prohibit local gun control provisions, according to the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America.) |
| “We consider this an emergency that demands the attention of the entire General Assembly and the Governor,” Representative Steve Roberts, chairman of the caucus, said in the release, citing the deaths in St. Louis and in Kansas City. “Action must be taken to stem this rise in gun violence in our cities and to help local law enforcement protect our children.” | “We consider this an emergency that demands the attention of the entire General Assembly and the Governor,” Representative Steve Roberts, chairman of the caucus, said in the release, citing the deaths in St. Louis and in Kansas City. “Action must be taken to stem this rise in gun violence in our cities and to help local law enforcement protect our children.” |
| In a statement, Governor Parson acknowledged the problem, but disagreed with the caucus’s proposed solution, saying that calling a special session was not the right way to address the problem. | In a statement, Governor Parson acknowledged the problem, but disagreed with the caucus’s proposed solution, saying that calling a special session was not the right way to address the problem. |
| “If we are to change violent criminal acts in Missouri, it will take all of us at the federal, state, local, and community levels working together toward that common goal,” he said. | “If we are to change violent criminal acts in Missouri, it will take all of us at the federal, state, local, and community levels working together toward that common goal,” he said. |
| On Tuesday night, Beto O’Rourke, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, highlighted the deaths in St. Louis in a string of tweets so as not to “lose sight of the individual lives lost” to gun violence each year. | On Tuesday night, Beto O’Rourke, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, highlighted the deaths in St. Louis in a string of tweets so as not to “lose sight of the individual lives lost” to gun violence each year. |
| St. Louis has had the nation’s highest murder rate since 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. According to St. Louis Police Department data posted on Monday, the city saw a total of 186 homicides last year and 134 so far this year. | St. Louis has had the nation’s highest murder rate since 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. According to St. Louis Police Department data posted on Monday, the city saw a total of 186 homicides last year and 134 so far this year. |
| Mayor Krewson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. | Mayor Krewson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. |