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ST. LOUIS — U.S. Attorney General William Barr was in ºüÀêÊÓƵ on Thursday to help promote a surge in law enforcement personnel that officials say has cut the number of killings in the city over the last eight weeks by 49%.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen told the Post-Dispatch that the success of the anti-crime initiative prompted Barr to continue the program for the immediate future. The eight-week effort also led to a reduction in overall violent crime by 17%, Jensen said.

But, as the city’s homicide rate swells to record levels this year, some questioned whether the federal intervention was making a difference. ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner was among those who questioned Barr’s assertions, saying he was relying on “bogusâ€� statistics.

Jensen, asked whether “Operation LeGend� could take credit for the drop when a variety of factors affect crime, said, “I don’t think you can ever measure exactly causation, however, increased law enforcement on the street, a dramatic increase in arrests and aggressive federal prosecutions certainly contributed heavily to the decline.�

The initial eight-week period was June 18 to Aug. 12, during which ºüÀêÊÓƵ saw abnormally high homicide tallies. The second eight-week period, when Operation LeGend was underway, was from Aug. 13 to Oct. 8, a stretch that historically sees

Officials said the operation resulted in 650 arrests, including 34 for homicides. They said 219 weapons were seized and 274 defendants charged in federal court.

Instances of aggravated assault with a firearm, carjackings and other categories of crime all were curtailed, federal officials said.

Gardner, the city’s top prosecutor, was skeptical about the crime numbers. In a , she wrote, “Did I hear you say since Project LeGend the #STL homicide rate is down by 49%? What data are you looking at? Bogus, short-term gerrymandered stats — insulting to the people of the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€�

Her office , “If you want to be real about addressing crime long-term, we all need to work together not only to address our city’s crime drivers … but also root causes of crime challenges — lax gun laws, a social service system in shambles & a pandemic not only of COVID-19, but hopelessness & despair.�

Gardner was not invited to Thursday’s meeting of federal, state and local law enforcement officials.

In all, 124 people were either brought in by various federal law enforcement agencies or reassigned from longer-term deployments to target violent crime. The Missouri Highway Patrol contributed 15 of those, he said.

They were assigned to police districts in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ and to homicide and fugitive task forces, he said.

Asked why Gardner wasn’t invited to attend Thursday’s gathering, Jensen said “this is primarily a federal law enforcement effort working with state and local police.�

There were no elected officials and no prosecutors there other than Jensen and two other U.S. attorneys.

Barr cited the crime statistics, pronounced the initiative a success and said ºüÀêÊÓƵ was one of nine cities picked for the operation because of its strong leadership and relationships among law enforcement officials.

ºüÀêÊÓƵ police Chief John Hayden spoke of an unprecedented wave of both crime and officers being shot that had been at least partially addressed by the surge in personnel. Nine officers have been shot since June 1, Hayden said. One, Tamarris Bohannon, died, as well as a retired police captain, David Dorn, who was shot while trying to prevent a pawn shop from being looted amid unrest following protests.

Jensen told the group that other efforts, including a program aiming to de-escalate conflicts before they turn fatal, will also have an effect on crime, “but those efforts can’t take root when bullets are flying.�

ºüÀêÊÓƵ police in the city as of Thursday. There were 194 in all of 2019 and 186 in 2018.

Officials did not allow questions from reporters, ushering them out after statements by Barr, Jensen and Hayden.

Jensen’s office has not yet responded to a request by the Post-Dispatch for a list of all those charged. In since August, federal officials have linked charges involving 32 people to Operation Legend.

The program was announced in August, along with the promise of a $1 million grant. Also referred to as Operation LeGend, it is named in honor of 4-year-old , who was fatally shot in June while asleep in his Kansas City home. Initially launched in Kansas City, it was later expanded to Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis, ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Indianapolis.