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BY CAROL ARNETT

Mayor Robert Lowery held the first of two meetings last week to address safety issues in the city after two recent shootings and to reassure residents of their safety. The second meeting was held Wednesday (June 4) night.

“There was a shooting by Robinwood School and one in Dunegant Park,” Lowery told the Ward 8 residents gathered at the James J. Eagan Center.

Lowery gave details on each shooting. In the Dunegant Park shooting, he said, “about 75 kids from Hazelwood East congregated in the park. Two fired weapons in the air.”

In the incident near Robinwood School, the mayor said, “one person involved was from Normandy, and one from Woodson Terrace. He said that two people in the shooting were connected to the Special School District school on Derhake.

“We’ve made major changes in the police department organization,” Lowery said. He said a task force was formed to revamp the scheduling. “We are stepping up our patrols. There will be more police on the streets at peak hours.”

Lowery stressed that the shootings were not gang related. When a resident present said that the rumor was that they were a gang initiation, Lowery said they were not. He cautioned residents not be believe rumors, saying that the rumor mill was wrong before.

“Look at the White Castle on Lindbergh,” he said. “I’ve heard rumors that it closed because of a shooting at the Valley of Flowers. In reality, they closed that to build a new White Castle with two drive-throughs.” The closing was planned months before the Valley of Flowers, he added, noting that the council had approved the proposal months earlier.

Lowery asked the residents present, and all residents, to help by calling in any suspicious activities. “We will respond,” he said, “but we need your eyes and ears.”

“This is not a racial thing,” Lowery said. “It is a community problem.” He said the city was encouraging residents to form Community Watch groups.

Councilwoman Karen McKay echoed Lowery’s plea for residents to call the police. “When I grew up, we were outside all the time,” she said. “We got to know our neighbors.”

Police Chief William Karabas said that the recent violence in the city was not new to society at large. At the Robinwood School shooting, he said, two students were fighting. “We used to get a bloody nose,” he said, “now they get shot.”

“Police alone can’t stop it,” Karabas said. “Look at the recent shooting at the Annie Malone parade,” he said. “There were hundreds of people and dozens of police, but a guy saw someone he’s feuding with and shot.”
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