UPDATED at 9 a.m. Monday with police now saying 11 people were shot
ST. LOUIS — Ten teens were injured and one killed in a shooting at a Washington Avenue office building early Sunday, authorities said, in what appeared to be a night of partying gone awry. Liquor bottles, cigar wrappers, gauze and bloodstains still littered the crime scene later that morning.
Police had arrested one teen, a 17-year-old boy, in the area and turned him over to juvenile authorities.Â
Shooting victims ranged in age from 15 to 19 years old, police said.
A 12th person was injured at the party, but she was not shot — a 17-year-old girl was trampled as she ran down the stairs to get away.
Makao Moore, a 17-year-old boy, was killed in the gunfire.
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The incident once again turned the spotlight on a downtown district that has struggled in recent years with out-of-control parties in rented apartments, drag racing and violent arguments at night clubs.
St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy said at a news conference that the department is working hard to concentrate patrols and crack down on downtown mayhem, but Sunday’s shooting was a setback.
“This is another wake-up call for our region,†said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, center, holds a news conference on Sunday, June 18, 2023, at the Wohl Recreation Center about a shooting where nine teens were injured and another killed at a party in a building on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis.
Police are looking for other possible suspects and expect to release surveillance photographs on Monday.Â
The incident started just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning, police said. Dozens of teens, both adults and juveniles, had gotten into the fifth floor of 1409 Washington Avenue, a loft building that had been converted into glass-walled suites, used in the workday as offices for tutoring centers and home health care providers and salons by hair stylists, makeup artists and massage therapists, among others.
When the shooting broke out, police said, dozens of people surged out of the building onto an adjacent parking lot. Police entered the building and found the crime scene on the fifth floor. Officers recovered handguns, AR-style rifles and multiple types of shell casings.
Officials said Sunday the party had been advertised on social media, and attendees had to message the organizers to get in. Police didn’t say how the teens gained access to the building.
The building’s owner and management company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But downtown neighborhood advocates and business owners who worked at 1409 Washington said they were frustrated and upset.
Makeup artist Brie Jackson, 34, has rented a suite in the building for three years and said she’d complained multiple times about the doors being unlocked after hours and homeless people getting into the building’s basement. She said it made her feel unsafe.
“I’m flabbergasted,†she said. “The building should not have been open.â€
The wreckage left behind on Sunday morning told a harrowing tale.
The scene on the fifth floor of a building at 1409 Washington Avenue where nine teens were shot, one died, during a party in the building on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
The building is a century-old, five-story office building with ground-floor retail space and glass-enclosed offices on the upper floors. It’s a block from the popular City Museum and a block off busy North 14th Street.
The lock on the front door was broken Sunday morning, and no crime scene tape remained. Stepping off the elevator on the fifth floor, small offices containing desks, massage tables, salon chairs or couches lined winding hallways.
But the glass door to one office was shattered. Roughly a dozen paces away, a bloody handprint marked a trail toward an 18-by-12-foot conference room, one of its walls now piles of glass. At least five bullet holes pierced the drywall.
A bloody handprint marks the wall of a hallway on the fifth floor of a building at 1409 Washington Avenue where nine teens were shot, including one who died, during a party early Sunday, June 18, 2023.
Office tables had been pushed to the side, and in the center of the room, bloodstains, gauze and paramedics' syringes remained. Nearby, a table had been overturned and broken.
In a kitchen area, cigar wrappers were scattered on a counter while spilled red wine left a sickly sweet smell. Another glass door was shattered. An empty tequila bottle was propped up on a drinking fountain.
At the end of the hallway, a large bloodstain marked the floor. Latex gloves, an oxygen mask, a backpack and two pairs of shoes were discarded nearby.
Bunnei Johnson, 21, arrived on the fifth floor just after 10 a.m., her mouth agape.
Hairstylist Bunnei Johnson, 21, checks out the scene on the fifth floor of a building at 1409 Washington Avenue where nine teens were shot, including one who died, during a party in the building on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Johnson works on the fifth floor and was unaware the incident had happened when she came in to collect some of her belongings.
“Oh my god,†she said when she saw the shattered glass. She hadn’t heard there was a shooting the night before.
Bullet holes with police evidence markers can be seen on the wall of a room on the fifth floor of a building at 1409 Washington Avenue where nine teens were shot, one died, during a party in the building on Sunday, June 18, 2023.Â
Johnson walked all the way past the conference room and the kitchen to her suite, which had remained undisturbed. Johnson, a hair stylist, grabbed two curling irons and shook her head.
“I actually want to leave as soon as possible,†she said.
Dan Pistor, president of a downtown neighborhood association, said the incident was part of a broader issue downtown of teens hosting parties that get out of control. Many times, people rent out apartment units through rental sites like Airbnb or VRBO and parties get out of hand, often turning violent, he said.
But it can also happen in commercial buildings, too, he said.
“Everybody needs to be aware of it and be proactive in securing their spaces,†he said.
At noon Sunday, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat, joined Jones and other city leaders in calling for stricter gun control laws and for regional investment in safe late-night activities for youth.
Jones said the city planned to extend hours and programming at the Wohl and Marquette recreation centers on Friday and Saturday nights to 10 p.m. for youths 15 and younger and until 1 a.m. for those 16 and older.
But the entire region needed to focus on the solution, she said, noting that kids who come from surrounding counties have also been involved with problems downtown.
“I need families to hear me loud and clear: Downtown is not a 1 a.m. destination for your 15-year-old,†she said. “It is not a place to drop children off unsupervised.â€
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of Makao Moore.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and police chief Robert Tracy speak at a press conference following a party downtown where nine juveniles were shot, including one killed, on the fifth floor of 1409 Washington Avenue Sunday morning. Video by Michael Clubb, mclubb@post-dispatch.com
The building at 1409 Washington Avenue where 17-year-old Makao Moore was shot to death and 10 others were injured by gunfire at a party Sunday, June 18, 2023. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Ashley Russell has her makeup done by makeup artist Brie Brie Jackson on the fourth floor of the building at 1409 Washington Avenue on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Jackson, who has rented a suite in the building for three years says she had no idea that nine teens were shot, one who died, only hours earlier on the fifth floor of the building during a party gone bad in the building. Jackson said security in the building has been lax with people often having easy access to enter through unsecured doors. On Sunday morning hours after the shooting the front door of the building was open to the public. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Broken glass is scattered about the hallway near the elevator on the fifth floor of a building at 1409 Washington Avenue where nine teens were shot, one who died, during a party in the building in downtown St. Louis on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
