ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A 15-year-old boy was gunned down before sunup Friday when someone fired a flurry of shots into a home in the north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County area of Glasgow Village. He had been getting threats, his mother said.
The victim was identified by his mother as Antoine Brown. Police and the medical examiner's office spell his first name Antione. He was shot to death while in bed about 5:30 a.m. in the 10300 block of Ross Circle, off Riverview Drive.
Antoine’s mother, Ebony Davis, 31, said in an interview that her son had been getting threats through texts and social media. She said when she heard the gunshots, she dropped to the floor and crawled into Antoine’s room. She couldn’t see, so she reached up onto the bed.
“I pulled his leg and said … wake up,†Davis said. When she was able to turn on the light, she saw her son had been shot in the head. He died at the scene.
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ºüÀêÊÓƵ County police Sgt. Benjamin Granda said police don’t think it was a random shooting, although investigators haven’t said why they think that.
Proof of the flurry of shots was clearly visible on the street, where crime-scene technicians had placed nearly a dozen evidence markers along Ross Circle, a dead-end road of modest homes.
There was a bullet hole in the headboard of Antoine’s bed. “They knew where he slept,†Davis said.
Hours after the shooting, as police canvassed the neighborhood, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecutor Wesley Bell arrived to talk with police about the teen’s death.
“They keep getting younger and younger,†Bell told reporters. “Obviously, it’s tragic. It’s something we’re going to have to deal with as a region. And that means, and I’ve said this before but: All hands on deck.â€
A woman who owns property on Ross Circle knew Antoine and called him sweet. The woman said she helped him by paying his football fees. “He was a good kid, to me,†said the woman, who asked that her name be withheld because she was fearful. “He called me grandma, and I called him baby. He was always respectful, mannerable.â€
The last time she saw Antoine, she had come to the block to check on her tenants and he was sitting on his front porch waiting for his mother. “He said, please be safe, grandma.†She said his meaning was obvious to her. “We’re black,†she said, “and it’s crazy out there.â€
Antoine, who went by the nickname Bruh Bruh, is at least the seventh child to die from gunshot wounds in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County this year; ºüÀêÊÓƵ city has had at least 13 children killed by gunfire this year.
A spokesman for the Riverview Gardens School District said Antoine attended the district’s alternative learning program. Earlier he attended Central Middle School and Riverview Gardens High School. The district’s crisis response team will be available to help students and staff deal with their grief, he said.
Davis said Antoine’s father, Antoine Lamar Brown, was shot to death in front of his mother’s home in Jennings in 2004. Antoine, a baby, was in the car with her when a man shot his father.
Bell, the prosecutor, stood in front of the crime-scene tape Friday and told reporters that the community has to step up. “We can’t work in our silos, we have to look at not only how we deal with serious crime but we have to look at the preventive measures that we can implement to avoid these situations.â€
Bell wouldn’t say anything about the crime itself, saying instead that he wanted to give police time to complete their investigation.
Davis said a vigil is planned at 7 p.m. Saturday in front of the family home.
Anyone with information about Friday’s shooting is asked to call the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
David Carson of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this report.
Editor's note:Â This story has been updated to change the spelling of the victim's first name, to match the spelling provided by the victim's mother.Â
Coverage of children who died in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area in 2019
These are the local incidents of homicide or neglect involving children, based on Post-Dispatch reporting. This list doesn't include children killed in car accidents (unless a criminal charge was filed) or incidents not being investigated by homicide detectives.
A body that was found over the weekend in the parking lot of an East ºüÀêÊÓƵ middle school was identified Monday as that of a 13-year-old boy.
Police in Ferguson found two teen boys, ages 15 and 16, who both had been shot, inside a vehicle about 12:45 p.m. The older teen was seriously…
Sylvester Knighten Jr., 31, and the boy’s mother Danesha Cannamore, 31, were both arrested when police responded Wednesday to a call for an un…
The father of a 2-year-old girl killed in an accidental shooting in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County this week is accused of leaving a loaded gun in a d…
Caleb Smith, was gunned down Wednesday in an alley in the 8300 block of Strathmore Place.
At 9:20 a.m., East St Louis police drove to the John de Shields Housing Complex, 1235 McCasland Avenue, after reports of a shooting.Â
Tavares Chisholm, 4, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, was hit and killed by a car as his mother pushed him and a 2-year-old in a stroller. A 27-year-old was char…
A 15-year-old boy was gunned down before sunup when someone fired a flurry of shots into a home in the north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County area of Glasgow …
The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday near the 11100 block of Oak Parkway Lane, as the teen walked through an apartment complex …
A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself after finding a gun in the Laurel Park apartments north of Jennings, police said.
He was found shot in the head just before 6 a.m. in the 7300 block of Vermont Avenue in the Carondelet neighborhood of south ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Police confirmed that a 10-year-old girl was among three people killed on the 700 block of North 21st Street around 6:30 p.m. The other victim…
Mayor Lyda Krewson urged tipsters to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. The usual reward is up to $5,000 for helpful tips.
The shooting occurred about a block north of Soldan High School, where a football exhibition was held Friday night. Fights broke out at the ev…
The mayhem has left brass begging for leads, politicians promising change, and parents at wits’ end: frustrated by lackluster investigations, …
Officers found Jason Eberhart Jr. dead in a parking lot in the 1300 block of Hogan Street around 2 a.m. Police said he was shot several times.Â
Taylor Jordan Baumer, 20, of the 1000 block of Adworth Drive in Mehlville, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child in the fir…
The day before he was to start as a second grader at Clay Elementary, Xavier Usanga was fatally shot while standing near an 18-year-old who wa…
He was inside an apartment with a group of teenagers when he was shot. He was found dead soon after.
Eddie was shot about 8:30 p.m. at a home in the 4700 block of Page Boulevard near the intersection with Marcus Avenue, police said. He was sit…
Was found shot to death inside a vehicle at a gas station at 4355 South Broadway; a 16-year-old in the car was not injured.
Robert Michael “R.J.â€Â Dorsey, was shot about 9:15 p.m. in the 800 block of Vegas Drive, in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ County. He was shot in the torso an…
Two teens and one adult were shot about 7:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Fourth Street in Madison. One of the teenagers died of his wounds.
Police found him lying in the street about 3 a.m. Tuesday with multiple gunshot wounds in the 44000 block of Cupples Place. He died the next day.
Michael Henderson Jr., 15, of Centreville was shot in the 800 block of East 15th Street. Police responded to the scene at 2:37 p.m.Â
Myiesha Cannon, 16, was shot in the head about 1:25 a.m. in the 4400 block of Lexington Avenue. Police have labeled the shooting as a "suspici…
Police are labeling the case a "suspicious death" and released no additional details. Her mother said she found a 9 mm pistol and accidentally…
Kennedi Powell and her neighborhood friends had just swarmed her father’s car for a piece of pizza Sunday evening when a white car drove past,…
Jashon Johnson, of the 2700 block of Allen Avenue, was shot several times near Red Bud and Margaretta, police said.
The parents of a baby girl who died last week after being left inside a hot car in Calverton Park were charged with manslaughter Monday.
Kristina Curry, 16, was found dead just before 5 a.m. Thursday on a rear parking lot at Roosevelt High School at 3230 Hartford Street, police said.Â
Jaylon McKenzie, 14, an eighth grader at Mason-Clark Middle School in East ºüÀêÊÓƵ who was featured in Sports Illustrated as one of six youn…
A St. John woman left three young children alone for several hours and came home to find her 4-month-old son dead, prosecutors say. She was ch…
Kayden Johnson, 2, and his mother Trina’ty Riley, 18, were found dead with gunshot wounds shortly before midnight in their home in the 5900 bl…
Curtis Marshall, 15, was the victim of a targeted shooting in the 1700 block of Cargill Drive, police said.Â
Police initially called the shooting a "suspicious death," but later said they had concluded Evione accidentally shot himself in the 1700 bloc…
Malik Moore, 17, was shot in the 100 block of Chambers Road about 2:50 p.m., authorities said. He lived on the same block, just west of Riverv…
Demarco Washington, 32, of the 10700 block of Spring Garden Drive in the Glasgow Village area, was charged with a felony count of child endang…
Elijah Roby, 2, died in a car accident. His mother, Ebony Roby, 25, was charged with first-degree child endangerment in connection with the case.