RIVERVIEW — Pearlie Howland has heard gunfire before near the Ja-Te Apartments here, where she lives. But nothing like the ruckus on Mother’s Day.
Dozens of shots nearby Sunday night startled her. On Monday morning, crime-scene tape still stretched across the lot in the back, where a junk car shared space with stained mattresses heaped next to old tires.
“I couldn’t help but hear it,†Howland said. “It was loud. At least 30 shots.â€
Four teenage boys were shot — one fatally — about 10 p.m. Sunday in the 10000 block of Toelle Lane. Authorities haven’t said if the boys were shot on the lot or at a home next to it.
Police identified the dead boy as 15-year-old Corian Edwards. He lived on Balboa Drive in unincorporated north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, about 3 miles from the killing.
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Riverview, a city of 2,400 residents in North County, counts Corian’s death Sunday as its fourth homicide of the year, according to Riverview Mayor Mike Cornell. One of the boys who survived Sunday’s attack was critically injured, and two were seriously hurt.
The boys were between 15 and 17 years old.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County detectives have taken over the investigation for the police force of Riverview, which has just nine officers. So far, police have not released a motive for the attack — or said if the gunman was among the four boys shot.
Police have been to the Ja-Te Apartments seven times this year, Cornell said. Officers typically respond there for domestic disturbances or shots fired into the air, he said.
But the quadruple shooting, Cornell said, was likely gang-related.
“It’s very unfortunate for a mother to lose a child on Mother’s Day,†the mayor said. “We’re trying to find out if they were residents of Riverview or somewhere else.â€
Riverview borders Glasgow Village, Bellefontaine Neighbors and ºüÀêÊÓƵ city.
On Sunday, someone called 911 to report the shooting, asking for two ambulances, then hung up.
Medics arrived to find two victims described as “walking wounded.†Then they found the critically injured boy and the boy who died.
Howland, the tenant, has lived in the complex for years and can’t remember such an incident.
“We’ve never had anything like that,†she said.
It’s scary, she said.
“But it’s just like — it became a normal thing in ºüÀêÊÓƵ,†she continued. “It happens so much. It’s sad.â€
Sunday’s fatal shooting marked the second in as many days involving a teenager in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region.
A 17-year-old girl is accused of shooting and killing a woman Saturday afternoon on a crowded MetroLink platform just north of Forest Park.