ST. LOUIS — A 4-year-old girl was shot to death by her young sibling just before midnight Monday in a north ºüÀêÊÓƵ home where no adults were present, police said Tuesday.
The girl is the youngest victim to die in the city this year by gunfire, said Tara Rick, executive director of operations for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Medical Examiner’s Office.
Her death followed a frantic attempt by police on the scene to save her life, authorities say.
Instead of waiting for medics, officers rushed the critically injured girl, who was unconscious and barely breathing, to the hospital in the back of a patrol car. One officer drove the five miles to the hospital, while the other tried to save her in the back seat.
She ultimately died at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Children’s Hospital. Police have not released her name.
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“We are heartbroken,†police .
Investigators said the shooting happened in the 700 block of Thrush Avenue, in the city’s Baden neighborhood.
Four children were in the home without adult supervision, police said. Two were 4 years old, one was 9 and one was 10.
One of the children was handling the gun when the bullet struck the girl, investigators say.
The sibling who fired the weapon suffered a small abrasion to the face. The sibling’s injury was not from a bullet and may have been from the gun jerking back once it was fired, police said. The girl who died is a twin, but officials did not say if the sibling who fired the gun was her twin.
One of the children in the home called 911.
The brick bungalow is on a dead-end street between Broadway and Hall Street, across from an empty lot choked with weeds.
The mother told investigators she was at the store when the shooting happened, police spokesperson Mitchell McCoy said Tuesday. After the mother left for the store, two kids found the firearm, McCoy said. It was easily accessible to a small child, McCoy added.
Police have a theory of where the gun was when the children found it, but authorities won’t divulge details until officers talk with each child who was in the home, McCoy said.
The girl’s mother showed up at the hospital on her own. She was not arrested. “We’re trying to determine who was responsible for watching the kids,†McCoy said.
He said the department would not reveal details about the mother until they know more about her role.
The mother was the owner of the firearm, McCoy said. The mother was not home when officers were on the scene. The department is in contact with two fathers of the children as part of the investigation.
The department’s homicide commander said detectives with the child abuse unit are in charge of the investigation.
More than 50 children ages 17 or younger have been injured or killed by gunfire across the ºüÀêÊÓƵ metropolitan area this year. Fifteen of them have died. Most of the shootings were in the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, and most involved teens. Some were accidental shootings.
Missouri does not have a state law requiring the safe storage of firearms. In ºüÀêÊÓƵ, a city ordinance spells out how weapons should be transported — but no ordinance addresses how weapons are stored inside a home.
The city’s ordinance requires that firearms in motor vehicles be unloaded and stored in a locked condition, a rule designed to curb gun thefts from vehicles.
Adults in the state can face if a child gets access to an unsecured weapon.
In April, for example, a ºüÀêÊÓƵ sheriff’s deputy was charged with child endangerment, a misdemeanor, after his 2-year-old nephew found the deputy’s loaded pistol in a bedroom while the deputy was outside. The child accidentally shot himself in the abdomen. The boy survived.
By contrast, a father in Franklin County was charged in 2021 with second-degree murder after his 4-year-old son found a pistol and accidentally killed himself in their Union home. The father told detectives he left the handgun under his couch and fell asleep after smoking pot and taking a painkiller, according to court documents.
In April, that father, Scott E. Hilton, pleaded guilty to two felonies: first-degree child endangering and unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
First-degree child endangerment is a felony defined as knowingly acting “in a manner that creates a substantial risk to the life, body, or health of a child.†The most serious class of felony is for cases when a child dies.
The shootings across the metro area involving children are a mix of homicides and accidental shootings.
In 2023, according to Post-Dispatch crime coverage, at least 68 children across the metropolitan area were injured or killed by gunfire. Twenty-one were killed; four of the victims were 11 years old or younger.
In 2022, at least 120 children were shot across the metropolitan area, including 26 who died. Nearly all of them were in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
In 2021, according to the Post-Dispatch coverage, at least 23 children were killed in shootings across the metro area; 72 were injured.
City leaders promote gun-lock programs, and devices have been provided for free from firehouses, hospitals, libraries and other groups. Promoting one such giveaway two years ago, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Tishaura Jones called on parents to keep guns out of the hands of children.
“If you have a gun in the house, be a responsible gun owner,†Jones said. “Store firearms locked and unloaded and pick up a free gun lock to help you and your loved ones safe.â€
Police said they provide gun locks, including at the north, south and central patrol divisions.
“If you are a gun owner, lock it up,†McCoy said. “Something like this is avoidable.â€
Namratha Prasad of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report
Children injured or killed by gunfire in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area in 2024
Below is the ºüÀêÊÓƵ coverage of children who have been injured or killed by gunfire across the ºüÀêÊÓƵ metropolitan area in 2024. The children are 17 years old or younger.
At least 59 children have been shot. Seventeen of those children have died.
Nearly all of the shootings were in the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Demetrius Haymon, 23, told police he went outside and found two teens breaking into his car, so he went outside to confront them with a gun.  …
Harley Hosein was shot by a sibling. Four young children were in the home, but no adults were present.Â
Karmel Graham, 16, was shot and killed as he and two others were "checking vehicles." A juvenile witness said Michael Tolden fired several sho…
The teen was found in an alley. He had been shot in the chest, police said.
16-year-old Mason McMahan of High Ridge was found shot to death in a field in Olivette.Â
A16-year-old male was shot in the thigh while he was walking with two other friends.Â
Dameon Kennedy-Henderson, 17, of Ferguson was found shot dead lying in the doorway of a vacant residence.Â
A 16-year-old suspected robber was in critical condition at a local hospital after being shot at the intersection of Russell Boulevard and Sou…
The boy was walking around 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Emily Street and Obear Avenue when he heard gunshots and realized he had been sh…
The child's father was taken into custody after telling police he'd been working with a firearm when it accidentally went off, with the child …
She was taken to a hospital and police said her injury is life-threatening. Police said she is either 15 or 16 years old.
The teen died three days after being shot. A 15-year-old was arrested and is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to police.
A 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ Saturday morning while walking in the Carr Square neighborhood, police said.
The teen told police that two people with black ski masks on their faces shot at him while he was standing on a front porch.Â
The boys, 15 and 16, were shot just after 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of East Obear Avenue, police said.Â
A 17-year-old was hit in the shoulder, and a 15-year-old was hit in the knee, according to ºüÀêÊÓƵ police.
Their injuries were not considered life-threatening, Illinois State Police said. No information was provided on the victims' ages or genders.Â
His parents were fighting with another group, police said, when someone opened fire.
The 16-year-old was listed in critical condition.
The girl was shot in the head in the 2700 block of Miami Street. She died at a hospital.
According to police reports, when the girl began to get the advantage in the fight, the woman retrieved a handgun from an unidentified man nea…
Two teens have been charged with murder after a 15-year-old boy shot last weekend at an illegal car show died. Four others were shot and injur…
Four boys -- between 15 and 17 years old -- were shot on Mother's Day in the 10000 block of Toelle Lane in north St. Louis County. One died.
A 2-year-old boy was treated for injuries after a man with an AR-15 fired several shots at a car on Chambers Road, blowing out the windshield.…
The boy said he heard a shot that he believed came from a black SUV, according to police.
The boy's mother said she was in bed next to the 4-year-old, who was sitting crossed legged when she heard a gunshot, picked the boy up and sa…
A 16-year-old boy was shot several times on a Thursday afternoon. Investigators said the teenager told one of the witnesses the suspect had at…
The 16-year-old told police that he and his brother, also 16, were walking on Kennerly when a car drove by and shot at them.Â
A hospital called police and told officers the 17-year-old boy had shown up with a gunshot to his hand.
Lawrence A. Clark was killed around 1 p.m. in the 1500 block of Purdue Avenue.
A toddler accidentally shot himself after he found his uncle’s gun inside a home here. The uncle is a ºüÀêÊÓƵ sheriff's deputy.
The 17-year-old boy was shot twice in the legs.
Police say they found the boy shot in his side near the 1500 block of Newhouse at about 12:45 a.m.
Investigators said the boy was playing football with his friends when a dog began running around. The suspect began shooting toward the dog bu…
The teenager had been shot in his leg. He told officers he was walking when a white sedan began shooting at him, police said.
 A 16-year-old boy on Monday accidentally shot himself in the leg while handling a gun.
A 16-year-old was shot in the leg in the Columbus Square neighborhood.Â
The 16-year-old told officers he was walking when a person approached him from behind and opened fire, police said.
A 17-year-old boy was found shot near the Heman Park Community Center. Police said he was expected to survive.
Tyree Williams, 16, died on the way to the hospital after being shot in the 2800 block of Innsbruck Drive, police said.Â
Colin Courtwright, 15, was one of two teens shot and killed, along with a man who was injured, near an apartment complex just before 2 p.m.
He said was riding in a white Toyota when the shots were fired, police said. He would not tell officers where the shooting happened.
The 13-year-old girl was shot in the head while standing on her porch. Authorities listed her in critical condition, and she later died from h…
The teen told police he was walking and a dark sedan drove by; he then heard several shots and realized he was shot in the leg, hip and shoulder.
A teenager was shot in the leg in the 5200 block of Robin Avenue.
Isaiah Walker, 16, was found shot in the street and died in a hospital days later, police said.
Officers were called about 2:25 p.m. for a shooting in the 3800 block of Missouri Avenue in the city's Marine Villa neighborhood.
A 15-year-old had been shot and taken by someone to Cardinal Glennon hospital, police said. Homicide detectives were called to investigate.
A 16-year-old boy was holding the gun around 6 p.m. in the 1000 of Eiler Street when he pulled the trigger and shot himself in the finger, pol…
A 17-year-old girl shot herself in the hand and thigh, police said.
Police said the 16-year-old was walking in an alley around 6:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of McMillian Avenue when he heard two shots rings out. …
A 17-year-old boy was found dead near a cemetery in Jennings after being shot to death. He was identified as Jaimarcus McDaniel of East ºüÀêÊÓƵ.